While reporting the company’s earnings Wednesday (Nov. 2), CVS CEO Karen Lynch noted that this year has also been important for expanding its digital presence.
Speaking to investors, Lynch said the pharmacy giant had added about 1 million digital customers in its third quarter, bringing its unique digital customer count to 46 million, 11 million more than last year at this time.
She credited this growth to CVS prioritizing experiences that matter to customers and building tools that lead to more engagement.
“For example, we recently launched a new functionality that drives more choice and convenience for patients filling prescriptions,” said Lynch. “Patients can expedite urgent prescriptions and have visibility into out-of-pocket costs and track their order status before even coming into the pharmacy.”
Earlier this year, CVS announced it planned to spend up to $3 billion on “technology and digital enhancements” to improve the consumer experience as its pandemic-related business — testing and vaccinations — began to decline.
The challenge facing CVS and many of its rivals — retailers, pharmacies and health insurers alike — is how to keep those customers engaged.
“More often than not, the answer points to increased digital connectivity,” PYMNTS wrote in February.
While many consumers had cut back on or avoided in-store shopping altogether, CVS has seen a dramatic increase in visits to its website, with consumers making more than 2 billion visits to its website in 2021, a 55% increase over the previous year.
The CVS earnings report also included the news that the company had tentatively agreed to pay $5.2 billion to settle lawsuits that claim it mishandled opioid prescriptions. Media reports Wednesday said Walgreens and Walmart had also apparently agreed to settle in similar suits, to the tune of $4 billion and $5 billion, respectively.
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