Citing the buying public’s growing expectations for fast delivery and reliance on mobile apps for a universe of information and service needs, CVS is now testing Express in California, North Carolina, and Georgia. Other states will join the program soon after, although urban locations without convenient parking may be difficult. The system-wide goal will be to have orders available within an hour.
In practice, not everything in specific stores will be available via the new service. Express Pickup is incorporated into the existing CVS Pharmacy app. When you place an order through the app you’ll choose from the most common items inventoried in your local store — approximately 75 percent of in stock merchandise — not what actually is in stock at the CVS where you’ll pick up the order. That means two things. One, the employee who acts as the order picker won’t know what’s in or out of stock and will need to look around. Second, if the store doesn’t have something on your list you’ll be notified by text message before you arrive and offered a substitute if available.
There won’t be a price premium on orders picked up at the curb. Tipping, I suppose, will be optional. The CVS acronym, which the corporation now says stands for Convenience, Value, and Service (it used to be ‘Consumer Value Store’), is focusing on making it easy for consumers to get what they want without waiting, searching, or needing to ask for help finding something in the store.
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