CVS Health Launches CVS Pay Feature
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Digital payment option enters the fray to compete for customers.
Drugstore chain CVS Health has announced that it will start accepting in-store payments through its existing mobile application, and the new CVS Pay feature will be integrated into the flagship CVS Pharmacy app with ExtraCare loyalty rewards and prescription drug pickup capabilities.
USA Today reported that CVS will launch the effort in markets including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware before mounting a nationwide rollout by the end of the year. The solution is available on iOS and Android devices.
"What we’re trying to do is streamline the in-store and drive-through transactions for millions of customers," CVS chief digital officer and senior vice president Brian Tilzer told USA Today.
Customers who wish to use CVS Pay must first add their credit or debit card in the CVS Pharmacy app. At checkout, they show the barcode in their app to the CVS store associate, who will then scan the barcode, ring up the purchase, and process the payment. The app also allows customers to refill, manage multiple prescriptions, and receive alerts when prescriptions are ready, all within the app. It then allows them to pick up and pay using a single barcode.
"Over the past year, our digital team has brought to market numerous new digital tools like CVS Pay that make shopping at CVS Pharmacy easier and more convenient," said Brian Tilzer, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, CVS Health. "We've been excited by the level of customer adoption of these digital solutions, and we will continue our quick pace of innovation and deployment to make our customers' health care experience even easier."
According to Pew Research, nearly one in five Americans are expected to use smartphones to make in-store purchases this year, which amounts to about 37.5 million users, up 62% over 2015.
"It’s not surprising to me that another big retailer would go out and try to integrate payments with their own app," Bryan Yeager, senior analyst for eMarketer, told USA Today. "They want to control as much of that relationship as possible."