CVS Gets Health Makeover

According to CVS executives, these changes are representative of what consumers want.

CVS drugstores are headed for a health and beauty makeover– find out more, next!  

First it’s quitting tobacco, now it’s a beauty makeover! The nation's second-largest drugstore chain recently announced that it is adding fresh foods, healthy snacks and expanded beauty options to several locations. 

For example, several of the Rhode Island-based stores are headed for makeovers that will mean adding fresh and refrigerated foods to about 500 of its stores and bulking up on healthier snacks chain wide. Bagged candy, which occupies the first aisle in many stores, is being moved back and replaced with items like nuts, trail mixes and granola.

According to CVS executives, these changes are representative of what consumers want. There is a growing interest in health & wellness amongst consumers, and retailers need to show that they are listening. Other stores, many CVS rivals, have been taking the same approach when it comes to expanding sales of healthier items.  Walmart for example, expanded their sales of organics. 

The makeovers for CVS are a smart move. Increasingly they are customizing their stores to cater to what their customers want.  CVS is also showing no signs of slowing down, with their most recent deal of purchasing Target's pharmacy and clinic business, with the deal being worth about $1.9 billion. According to the company's statement, CVS will acquire more than 1,660 Target pharmacies across 47 states in the United States and operate them through a store-within-a-store format. This deal will inevitably make the CVS drugstore impact even stronger. 

Health and wellness is a profitable area for retailers and those that emphasis and cater to the growing trend of consumers towards a healthier lifestyle will continue to attract shoppers.