US pharmacy chain takes unprecedented step to hook millennial mums
CVS says its 'CVS Express' app is the first in a number tech programmes it will develop
On Tuesday, CVS announced the launch of CVS Express, a mobile ordering and pickup program, in partnership with tech startup Curbside.
With CVS Express, customers can pick up products ordered using the CVS App from outside the stores about an hour after placing their orders. Thanks to Curbside’s arrival detection technology, customers never even have to leave their cars.
"We’re all on mobile phones all the time," says Brian Tilzer, CVS Health’s chief digital officer. "A mum [can] pick up a sick child from daycare, [then] pick up a few products... without having to get her kid out of the child seat."
Of course, the CVS-Curbside partnership will help customers beyond parents. Tilzer says dog owners, mobility-challenged customers, and busy professionals shopping for general household products have all also responded positively to the new program.
The service is rolling out in the majority of CVS’ 7,900 retail locations, and will allow customers to buy front-of-store and over-the-counter items (though no prescription options), for no additional costs.
"A visit to a CVS could take 15 minutes," says Tilzer. "To pick up a Curbside package takes 20 seconds."