AUGUSTA, Ga. – A second local Walgreens location is among around 1,200 stores the chain will be shutting down.

The store at 3228 Wrightsboro Road will be closing permanently on March 6, customers were told.

Walgreens had previously announced the store at Washington Road and Bobby Jones Expressway will be permanently closing on Feb. 20.

The closures are happening as the chain and its rivals struggle to define their role for U.S. shoppers who no longer look to them first for convenience.

Drugstores that once snapped up prime retail space in towns and cities across the country are in retreat. They’ve been battered by shrinking prescription reimbursement, persistent theft, rising costs and consumers who have strayed to online retailers or competitors with better prices.

Drugstore leaders and analysts who follow the industry say smaller versions of these chains have a future in U.S. retail, but they’re still trying to understand how that will play out.

“They’ve really got to rethink how they do business and, most importantly, what they mean and what value they bring to the customer,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting and data analysis firm GlobalData.

Saunders said drugstores “have really shot themselves in the foot” because they no longer have a clear way to differentiate themselves from other retailers.

“When you want to get the big bucks from consumers, you have to be a destination for something,” he said. “And unfortunately, drugstores have increasingly become destinations for nothing.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The first annual STEAM Summit was held at Augusta Technical College on Saturday.

It was put on by the SWAT Foundation and provided a new way for students to engage with academic areas.

The summit, which focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, showed the creative and inspiring ways that children can use math and science.

Leaders say it’s all about challenging the typical way of thinking while expanding the horizons of what careers are available.

“Before coming becoming the CEO of SWAT Foundation, I was a classroom teacher. Most specifically, I was a science teacher, and I saw first-hand that a lot of times we had to focus on teaching toward a test which was reading and math. And so, our babies were being left behind in science and technology, engineering and math. So, I wanted to make sure that starting this year because. The city is bustling with STEM careers, so our students need access to that. Our teachers need access to that,” said Marquitta Rucker, CEO and founder of SWAT Foundation.

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