Retailer CVS has announced it will start offering home delivery of prescription drugs at most of its 9,800 U.S. retail stores. It’s a bold, but necessary, move in a world that’s not just digital, not just physical, but which combines both. CVS will let you submit or renew your prescription on a mobile device, computer, or via phone, and in one or two days your prescription will get delivered to your door, providing last-mile customer journey delight.
CVS’s approach to omnichannel customer service is a bid to beat Amazon and others to the home-delivery market for prescription drugs. But it’s more than that. It’s representative of retailers’ and brands’ work toward creating useful, delightful, and service-oriented offerings that win and retain customers and earn their loyalty.
Acquia believes so strongly that customer journey orchestration can help brands acquire, convert and grow customers that we’re focused on helping brands solve this challenge with our solution, Acquia Journey.
As CNBC said about CVS’s efforts, “Amazon has already strained retailers with its free two-day shipping and is now eyeing the prescription drug market. CVS' program will be a test of whether patients are willing to wait for their medicines in exchange for the convenience of delivery.”
To me, the answer is yes. CVS’s work shows that it’s trying to move faster than ever to differentiate with customer experience and convenience across the total customer journey - something customers have proven willing to pay for (hello, Amazon Prime).
The Best Customer Experiences Save Time, Reduce Effort
Today, new customer-oriented services save time, save money and provide useful services across the customer journey. These are gaining traction and helping brands grow and build loyalty. Before prescription delivery, CVS was early to the game with drive-through pharmacy pick-up and more recently rolled out curbside pickup for store items. CVS is exhibiting a lesson of the experience era.
CVS isn’t alone. Just this week, other brands are showing that they too have experience innovation on the brain. Two examples that jumped out at me include Marriott International and the U.S. Postal Service.