CVS invests in Curbside to launch mobile orders and store pickup options

CVS Curbside partnership

CVS is investing in Palo Alto-based shopping startup Curbside, the retail pharmacy giant has announced along with plans to further roll out Curbside’s service to 9,600 of its locations.

No numbers have been shared, but we do know that the two parties will be working together to expand the technology to other areas of CVS’ business, including its pharmacies and MinuteClinics.

CVS is also introducing a new curbside pickup option as a branded experience called “CVS Express,” which will be accessible within its own CVS mobile app. This feature is currently available in 350 locations in San Francisco; Charlotte, NC; and Atlanta, GA allowing customers to select from almost 10,000 items, or about three-quarters of CVS’s inventory.

Using a mobile app customers place items in their basket, and then head over to their local retail location where the order is ready for pickup within an hour.The two companies started working together last year, with CVS launching a co-branded experience with Curbside in October. Apparently those first tests worked like a charm, and now the idea is to make the service available to the wider audience.

Using either CVS’ or Curbside’s mobile app customers place items in their basket, and then head over to their local retail location where the order is ready for pickup within an hour. Upon customer’s arrival, Curbside’s geo-location technology alerts the staff who will bring the order out to the car.

There are no additional fees to use the service, and for CVS – it hasn’t had to increase headcount to accommodate mobile orders at this time.

According to Curbside, the service has a repeat usage of 55 percent among a largely female customer base (65 percent). Prior to this latest investment, the company has raised $34.5 million, and is also working with such big retailers as Target, Sephora, Levi’s, and some Bay Area malls.

[Via: TechCrunch]