CVS, Rite Aid up the ante in same-day delivery

With the pandemic pulling many Americans into the online shopping realm, drugstore chains CVS Pharmacy and Rite Aid are serving up more same-day delivery options.

CVS on Tuesday unveiled an upgrade to its CarePass customer benefits program that gives members free same-day delivery of prescriptions through Shipt. Meanwhile, Rite Aid has partnered with DoorDash for same-day delivery of non-prescription health, wellness and convenience products.

Using the new CarePass benefit, members can order new prescriptions and refills from CVS Pharmacy with no delivery fee and receive them via Shipt within hours, Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS said. Members also can add front-end and over-the-counter items to their prescription delivery, including from categories such as vitamins, digestive health, pain relief, first aid and grocery. Non-CarePass members can get same-day prescription delivery for $7.99.

Same-day prescription delivery by Shipt is available at nearly 8,000 CVS drugstores in 47 states.

A paid program, CarePass includes such benefits as access to a 24/7 pharmacist helpline, 20% off CVS Health-brand products, a monthly $10 Promo Reward and free one- to two-day shipping on CVS.com. Membership costs $5 per month or $48 annually.

“The member response to the CarePass program is tremendous. Our goal is to continuously evolve CarePass to meet our customers’ changing needs,” CVS Pharmacy President Neela Montgomery said in a statement. “By speeding up prescription delivery for CarePass members to a matter of hours, we’re offering additional convenience for the millions of members who’ve opted into the program,” noted Montgomery, who’s also executive vice president at parent company CVS Health.

Related:Walgreens offers delivery in less than two hours

In offering the new CarePass delivery benefit, CVS is leveraging its current partnership with Shipt, a subsidiary of Target Corp., which has CVS Pharmacy departments in over 1,700 stores. Same-day delivery by Shipt is available at nearly 8,000 CVS drugstores in 47 states for eligible prescription drug orders with qualifying prescription benefit programs and insurance plans.

“We’re thrilled to expand our work with CVS to include free same-day delivery with CarePass, helping to meet the needs of even more CVS Pharmacy patients,” stated Kelly Caruso, CEO of Birmingham, Ala.-based Shipt. “Our trusted network of 300,000 Shipt shoppers deliver items safely and with care, which is critical for sensitive items like prescriptions. We look forward to collaborating with CVS Pharmacy on this effort.”

Last June, CVS announced a partnership with DoorDash for same-day delivery of food, grocery, nonfood and non-prescription products. The service kicked off in selected markets and then expanded nationally in July. CVS represented DoorDash’s first pharmacy retail partner, while DoorDash marked CVS’ third on-demand delivery partnership. The drug chain already offered same-day delivery of Rx and non-prescription items through Shipt and nonprescription items via Instacart.

Related:CVS bulks up in-store assortment of frozen food, snacks

Rite Aid gets new delivery partner

Through its partnership with Rite Aid, San Francisco-based DoorDash said the drug chain’s customers can now order non-prescription products for home delivery via the DoorDash app or website from more than 2,100 Rite Aid stores in 17 states and receive their items in an average of less than an hour.  

DoorDash said it will offer more than 24,000 SKUs from Rite Aid, including health and beauty aids such as shampoo and makeup; non-perishable and perishable groceries, such as milk and Thrifty ice cream; OTC medicines like pain relievers and cold/flu remedies; and household products, such as paper towels and cleaning supplies. 

“We want our customers to have as many options as possible to shop our selection at nearby stores,” commented Katie Finnegan, chief customer experience and e-commerce officer at Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid. “Providing same-day delivery through DoorDash provides customers with the option to shop our full assortment of products from the convenience of their smartphones or computers, ensuring they can access Rite Aid anytime and anywhere they need to.”

DoorDash will offer more than 24,000 front-of-store items from Rite Aid for same-day delivery.

Rite Aid also is available on DashPass, a DoorDash subscription service that offers members unlimited free delivery and reduced service fees from thousands of restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores nationwide. DashPass members shopping at Rite Aid can access those benefits on orders of $12 or more. 

“Amidst the pandemic, we accelerated our momentum into new categories to address consumers’ heightened needs for access to everyday health and wellness essentials,” according to Fuad Hannon, head of new verticals at DoorDash. “As we continue to expand our offerings in the convenience space, we’re thrilled to partner with Rite Aid to provide customers with on-demand access to their favorite drugstore products and a wide selection of home essentials delivered right to their doorsteps.” 

Rite Aid already offered same-day delivery of groceries and OTC health products at all of its stores through Instacart under a partnership announced almost a year ago.

Walgreens boosts delivery service

CVS’ and Rite Aid’s expanded same-day delivery announcements come a week after rival Walgreens extended its on-demand delivery options to include less than two-hour service for retail products.

Walgreens last week announced less than two-hour delivery service for non-Rx items via partners DoorDash, Uber, Act Fast and Medline.

Through partners DoorDash, Uber, Act Fast and Medline, Walgreens customers can shop from more than 24,000 front-of-store items online via Walgreens.com or the Walgreens mobile app and get same-day home delivery.

In February, Walgreens had launched same-day delivery via Instacart in Illinois, with plans to roll out the service chainwide by this spring, as well as offer a wider selection of eligible products.

Instacart marked Walgreens’ third on-demand delivery partner for non-prescription items. The drug chain kicked off last-mile delivery with DoorDash at over 2,300 stores in July 2020 and with Postmates (now part of Uber) at more than 7,000 stores in March 2020.