CVS Health store of the future unveiled

A CVS Health store of the future unveiled in New York City this month highlights the retailer’s new direction in its post-tobacco era.

CVS famously discontinued tobacco sales in 2014, axing what was then a US$1.5 billion category based on annual sales. It then renamed itself CVS Health.

“Our decision to stop selling tobacco was a pivotal moment for us as a company,” a spokesman explained, introducing the new store style. “Our customers wanted to know “What’s next?”, and this was the catalyst for us to rethink our retail experience.”

The journey began in 2015, when the chain introduced a new store format with healthier food selections and an enhanced beauty environment.

“As we thought about what was next, we knew we needed to leverage our expertise in health — and bring our purpose of helping people on their path to better health — to life in our retail environment.”

The reimagined store – effectively the CVS Health store of the future – features a new design, new health services, expanded health and beauty product offerings and more “better-for-you” products throughout the store. In addition to the in-store changes, the mobile experience and ExtraCare Rewards program continue to evolve, offering more ways for customers to enhance their shopping experience and earn personalised rewards seamlessly within the CVS app.

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Evolution of store design

The new format offers a streamlined layout to make shopping easier with 30m of new merchandise in health, beauty and “better for you” categories. “Discovery zones” in key health categories take a holistic approach to care and product selections, and customers are guided by informational signage with guidance to make finding the right solution easier.

“As we continued to enhance our customer experience, we saw a natural link between hearing and vision health, and overall health and quality of life,” the spokesman explained. “Following a successful pilot with 12 stores, we’re adding hearing and optical services to nearly 50 new locations.”

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From sick-care to self-care

“Our customers aren’t just looking for products to help when they are sick, they want products to help them stay well.”

The health offer has been vastly expanded throughout health with a broader selection of vitamins, supplements and nutrition products from specialty brands like Irwin Naturals, New Chapter and Navitas Organics Superfood Mix Ins.

Beauty with purpose

There has been no loss of focus on beauty. New “on-trend” beauty brands like Wunder2, Tigi Cosmetics and a large selection of exclusive Korean Beauty offerings feature in stores, as well as products that have greater skin health benefits and more natural ingredients. To help improve customer exploration and inspiration, a new “trend wall” has been added to 2000 stores featuring new launches and niche brands.

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Healthier foods

“Better-for-you” food options, including 27 new items under the exclusive Gold Emblem Abound brand, are a prominent feature of the new store look. Healthier choices, including Alo Exposed Waters, Epic bison bars and That’s It bars will make up approximately 50 per cent of all food options found throughout the store.

Making “better” easier

CVS Health says the catalyst for the evolution of its retail stores was CVS Pharmacy’s decision in 2014 to stop selling tobacco.

Now the company is extending that health commitment by:

  • Removing certain chemicals from beauty and personal care lines. By the end of 2019, all parabens, phthalates and formaldehyde donors in products within the CVS Health, Beauty 360, Essence of Beauty, Promise Organic and Blade store brand product lines will be removed.
  • Developing new standards for vitamins and supplements. CVS Pharmacy is embarking on the development of new standards for vitamins and supplements, with the goal of full implementation by 2019. The standards will require third-party testing of ingredient listings for vitamins and supplements, as well as product testing for certain ingredients of concern.
  • CVS Pharmacy was the first national retail pharmacy chain to announce the removal of artificial trans fats from all exclusive store brand food products.
  • In addition, it recently removed all sun care products with SPF lower than 15 from its shelves while expanding products with SPF 30/broad spectrum, natural beauty brands and products focused on skin health.

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