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WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has launched CVS Express, a curbside and in-store pickup service for nonprescription items that’s accessed via the CVS Pharmacy app.
CVS said Tuesday that the service is one of fruits of the CVS Digital Innovation Lab and was developed in partnership with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Curbside, the maker of the store pickup app. CVS Express marks the industry’s first retail solution that integrates Curbside’s technology right into the drug chain’s app, according to the company.
In addition, CVS reported that it’s making an investment in Curbside, which it described as “a company perfecting the store pickup experience for retailers and consumers.”
CVS Express works as follows: Users tap the CVS Express icon in the CVS Pharmacy app, choose a pickup store and shop from among thousands of nonprescription products. The CVS store selected gathers the order and then lets the customer know when it’s ready, typically in about an hour. The customer drives to the store and parks in the CVS Express spot, and the purchase is brought to the customer’s car. Customers also can choose to have their order ready for pickup in the store.
The first time customers access the service, they create a CVS Express account and link to their ExtraCare rewards card.
“Retail pharmacy is an exciting, competitive landscape that is ripe for digital innovation,” CVS Pharmacy president Helena Foulkes, who’s also executive vice president at CVS Health, said in a statement. “This partnership with Curbside allows CVS Health to offer new and more convenient ways for our customers to shop with us, ultimately making it easier for them to enjoy a healthy lifestyle in a way that works best for them.”
Currently, CVS Express is offered in San Francisco; Charlotte, N.C.; and Atlanta. Plans call for the service to roll out to more CVS Pharmacy stores later this year. The service, which carries no extra costs or convenience charges, can be used to shop for all front-end and over-the-counter items, the company said.
“We believe digital tools are the key to making health care convenient, personal and affordable for our customers, and CVS Express is a perfect embodiment of our digital mission,” stated Brian Tilzer, senior vice president and chief digital officer at CVS Health. “By working closely with our retail team and partnering with Curbside, who brought industry-leading technology to our platform, we rapidly developed a seamless and simple solution that creates a significant time savings for customers. We are committed to redefining convenience and this will be one of many steps on that journey.”
CVS and Curbside created the CVS Express solution was created in less than three months in the CVS Digital Innovation Lab, CVS said.
“We founded Curbside to help make shopping at neighborhood stores faster and easier than ever before,” explained Jaron Waldman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Curbside. “Our proprietary location technology ensures seamless, reliable order hand-off at the moment a customer arrives, and our console app powers an efficient pick and pack operation for CVS Pharmacy colleagues to prepare orders in the store. In partnership with CVS Health, we’ve created a fast, convenient new shopping experience that busy CVS Pharmacy customers are going to love.”
