CVS Looks To Get Healthy

CVS looks to revamp its image and up wellness game in an effort to position itself as a health retailer.

The national drugstore chain recently announced plans to reboot more of its physical stores to promote new lines of health and wellness products to do its new(ish) corporate name, CVS Health, proud.

The health play isn’t just cosmetic.

The new store design features a display, called the discovery zone, which features a broader assortment of healthy foods and wellness products along with beauty selections.

CVS said that healthy options will make up some 50 percent of all food in the store, including 27 new items under the company’s private-label brand Gold Emblem Abound.

As of now, some 800 of the company’s 8,000 locations already feature the new design.

Further, the company plans to remove chemicals that consumers find problematic — namely parabens, phthalates and formaldehyde donors — from its store brand product lines by 2019. And of course, nutritional and dietary information and information on GMOs will get clearer labels on shelves.

The move isn’t just a way to improve consumer health. It’s also a strategy to boost the health of its sales and foot traffic. CVS still hasn’t fully recovered from the healthy but costly cut of tobacco sales in 2014, so it’s doubling down on its health kick to bring in health-conscious foot traffic.

The brand also made note of new digital developments for CVS Pay and CVS Curbside, its online order, in-store pickup program.

“Pharmacy is the heart of our business and our focus on providing care to patients and customers defines everything we do in our stores,” said Helena Foulkes, president of CVS Pharmacy and executive vice president, CVS Health. “Our new retail offerings leverage our deep expertise in health to enhance our customers’ shopping experience.”

CVS will roll out major changes to some 70 new and existing stores in 2017, with plans to expand to several hundred more in 2018.