Article

CVS iPad app offers a virtual shopping experience

The new virtual storefront app caters to the tablet-using shopper and capitalizes on the popularity of mobile retail.

April 4, 2013 by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group

It's no secret among retailers that an online presence is crucial for survival. But to move beyond survival to successful, retailers need an online presence that is unique, interactive and inviting — necessary requisites to catch and keep the savvy mobile shopper.

Last week, CVS Pharmacy launched an interactive mobile shopping application specifically for use with iPads. The application creates a 3D rendering of a CVS store, allowing the shopper to access services from the Pharmacy, ExtraCare, Photo Center and MinuteClinic, as well as browse departments to shop. Customers gain access to features like enhanced prescription management, a consolidated coupon center and catalogue style shopping.

As mobile shopping, particularly on tablets, continues to grow in popularity among consumers, the virtual storefront could become part of a brand's arsenal for offering the complete omnichannel customer experience.

In a recent interview with Retail Customer Experience, Brian Tilzer, senior vice president and chief digital officer for CVS, gave some details as to the motivation, creation and design behind the application:

Q: Tell me about how this project came about — why did the company decide this was a needed product, and who made the business case?

A: Millions of customers use a tablet to visit CVS.com each month, and many of our customers use iPads in particular. Since our customers increasingly access our services on-the-go, we considered how to best integrate our mobile experiences with the other touch points we have at CVS/pharmacy, such as our stores and call centers. Our intent was to empower our customers on their path to better health through innovative and personalized technologies.

The new CVS/pharmacy iPad app was designed with our customers in mind, so that it's not only intuitive, but engaging and fun, to mimic the already familiar in-store experience. With our new iPad app, customers will now be able to enjoy the services available on CVS.com and in our stores — including Pharmacy, ExtraCare, photo, the weekly circular, and Minute Clinic — for a seamless experience that works with their on-the-go lifestyle.

Q: How long did the project take, from conception to completion?

A: At CVS/pharmacy, we are constantly brainstorming digital ideas so our customers can engage with us through online, mobile and tablets as an extension of our in store services. Last year, we noticed more and more traffic from tablet devices, and from iPads specifically, so we began thinking about creating an easy-to-use experience geared towards iPads. We reached critical mass several months back and aggressively pursued development to bring it to market as quickly as possible. Going forward, we plan to continue to test, refine and augment the app, and we have already begun looking ahead to the next release to refine the app and introduce increased safety and interactive functionalities, so check back for updates!

Q: What were the original must-have features in the design spec and what other ideas made their way in during design?

A: We knew early on that we wanted to create a tablet app that would feature a 3D digital store, which would feel intuitive to our customers to navigate. Tablets are an ideal platform to create this virtualized, 3D drugstore shopping experience, because they rely on strong visuals and gesture-based movements. For example, customers can easily manage prescriptions for themselves and their families and look up essential drug information with the swipe of a finger. Above all, the app is designed for ease of use, offering our customers a streamlined option to fulfill their pharmacy and shopping needs on the go. It's also important to note that prescription information and updates are transferred across platforms and devices – from the iPad app to the mobile app and/or CVS.com — all with the one simple login.

Q: Is there anything your team wishes it knew going into the project? Anything you'd have done differently?

A: The new CVS iPad app was built to address the needs of our customers after studying their habits carefully. Extensive research went into developing our iPad app to make sure that the app had both an engaging user experience as well as great functionality and practicality for our customers, whether they're filling prescriptions, creating a personalized shopping list, or checking their ExtraCare account. We continue to refine the app and plans are already underway for the next release, which will include increased interactive and safety features.

Q: What/when is the ROI going to be realized on this project, and how are you measuring it?

A: CVS/pharmacy is committed to deploying new and emerging digital technologies that empower our customers on their path to better health. We approach mobile by developing innovative ways to integrate digital services, through multiple access points, that our customers can access easily and quickly while on the go, with the services we offer in our stores, pharmacy, MinuteClinic and call centers to create a seamless and enjoyable experience.

Read more about multichannel retail.