CVS Pharmacy, which began testing same-day prescription delivery in late 2017, announced it is working with delivery service Shipt Inc. to offer the service from about 6,000 locations nationwide.
For $7.99, Shipt will deliver eligible prescriptions “within hours,” CVS says. Consumers can make the delivery orders via the CVS Pharmacy app, through SMS text or by calling their local stores. Customers using the service can add non-pharmacy products to a same-day prescription order at no extra charge, a CVS spokeswoman says.
Patients who don’t need their medications as quickly can still select the pharmacy chain’s existing one- to two-day option, which costs $4.99. Most prescriptions are eligible for delivery, but exceptions include prescriptions covered by Medicare Part B, controlled substances and other medicines subject to third-party plan exclusions.
CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health Inc. (No. 114 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000), operates more than 9,800 locations nationwide. The 6,000 CVS Pharmacy locations served by Shipt will include about 1,200 of the roughly 1,600 pharmacies operated in Target Corp. (No. 17) stores, the CVS spokeswoman says. Target acquired Shipt for $550 million in late 2017.
CVS will continue its existing relationship with app-based same-day delivery service Instacart for “front of the store” non-prescription merchandise. Consumers also can order non-prescription merchandise for same-day delivery via the Shipt app. However, CVS will prepare all same-day prescription orders—with Shipt providing courier service only, the spokeswoman says.
In its year-end earnings call in February, CVS—which in December acquired health insurer Aetna for $67 billion—made it clear ecommerce and mobile access to health services are priorities for the company. In 2019, CVS plans to spend between $325 million and $350 million on various types of technology as it aims to transform its stores into healthcare shopping and services facilities.
CVS rolled out same-day prescription delivery in New York in December 2017 and later expanded the service to Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
In October 2018, CVS began testing a program called CarePass in the Boston area. The program includes free one- to two-day delivery on most medications and purchases, access to a 24/7 pharmacist hotline and 20% off all CVS Health brand products. Customers can join CarePass for $5 a month or $48 a year and also receive a monthly $10 CarePass promotional reward they can use toward nearly all purchases in-store and online at CVS.com.