I wouldn’t quite call myself an addict, but I would definitely say I’m a frequent CVS shopper. The stores are so brightly lit and well organized that it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to step inside, even when you don’t actually need anything. For this week’s assignment, I decided to review the CVS pharmacy mobile app. I had heard so many good things about it from friends of mine that I figured it would be a good one for me to try out.
The Features
The home screen of the CVS mobile app has a very user-friendly layout. Each category has its own section, making it easy for you to know exactly where you need to go to do what you need to do.
TIP: Immediately after downloading the app, I’d recommend setting up an online CVS account to be able to take full advantage of its features. A few of the sections, such as creating your own shopping list, ask you to set up an account before proceeding. Setting up an account is quick and easy.
Pharmacy
Rather than having to call them in or order them online, you can use the pharmacy section of the CVS app to manage, view and refill your prescriptions. You can use Rapid Refill and order from your CVS account or scan the barcode of your prescription to refill your medication. You can even transfer prescriptions from one pharmacy to another without ever having to pick up the phone. One of the newest features in the pharmacy section is the Drug Interaction Checker, which lets you scan over-the-counter product bar codes to check for medication interactions.
Photo
But CVS is much more than just a pharmacy. The app also features a section for your photos. In this section, you can upload photos from your online CVS account, your smartphone’s camera roll and even from Facebook for free same-day pick up. Being able to upload pictures directly from Facebook saves you from having to copy/save your Facebook photos to a folder on your computer and upload them to your CVS account.
Shop
This section allows you to shop as you would in the store or on the CVS website. You can create a virtual shopping list by searching through different item categories and selecting the picture of the item(s) that you want, or you can add items to your online shopping cart and then purchase them directly from there. In this section, you can choose whether you’d like to give the CVS mobile app permission to access your location so that it can find the closest store to you.
ExtraCare and Other Deals/Coupons
When you use your ExtraCare card to purchase something in the store, the cashier will typically hand you a ridiculously long receipt showing you all of your available coupons. The CVS mobile app features a section where you can upload your ExtraCare card to make it easier for you to track your savings and rewards. In other words, you’ll no longer have to walk around with all these long receipts in your purse because it keeps track of your available coupons digitally.
There’s also a brand new deals section called myWeekly Ad. It allows you to receive personalized deals on the items you buy most while still allowing you to see weekly store specials. Personally, I think this is a great concept. Some of the coupons I receive from CVS aren’t really useful, but with targeted advertising, I’d be more likely to use them. If you’d prefer not to have your frequent purchases tracked, you can choose to opt out of myWeekly Ad and just get information about the weekly deals.
My One Criticism
To my knowledge, there’s no way for you to upload your gift card money like you can when using the Starbucks app. My grandma likes giving me CVS cards, and while I typically carry them in my wallet, it would be easier if I could upload their values directly to the app so that I wouldn’t have to worry about whether I have them on me. Do you think any other features are missing from the app?
Overall Take
The CVS app seems to be one of the most useful and user-friendly apps out there. I think we could all benefit from having it.
Social Media: The way I see it. 
Hello Lynette. Here in Puerto Rico, there is a Walgreens everywhere, but CVS opened a few years ago. Their strategy is to plan their store locations next to some existing Walgreens stores, which I think it’s crazy. Anyway, from all the app features you describe, I loved the pharmacy section and the coupons. I hate going to the pharmacy to get medication and usually I go to a neighborhood pharmacy because they don’t take as long as in stores like CVS and Walgreens. However, I have to personally go to these stores with my prescription. Right now they are in the process of letting people use email to send them, but you always have to call to see if they received it. This app gives you the options to order refills and transfer prescriptions without having to call. That sounds better! The idea with the coupons is better than having to store the next purchase coupon in the purse, where it usually gets lost. Begin able to have them in your phone is much more easy to handle. I think the app is missing many potential features under the photo section, such as the ability to design albums mugs or postcards, for example, that can be sent to the store and picked up later. Great post!
Hi Celeste,
Thank you for the comment. It sounds like Puerto Rico is a bit behind the times when it comes to managing prescriptions online. Both the CVS and Walgreens apps allow you to do this, thereby saving their customers lots of time and hassle. I hope Puerto Rico starts to implement this soon! And you’re right. The ability to store all of your coupons on your phone means that you’re more likely to use them. Using coupons to purchase something from a store is better than not purchasing from it at all, so in the long run, digital coupons have a positive impact on these pharmacies. You bring up a good point about the CVS app photo section missing certain design features. While I think these would be useful to have, I don’t think I’d want to do much in the way of design on my iPhone because the screen is too small, but I would definitely use this feature if I were using an iPad.
Hi Lynette,
I don’t get prescriptions from CVS: I’ve been going to Walgreen’s for prescriptions since I was a kid and the pharmacist at my local Walgreen’s has taken very good care of me and my family. But I do go to CVS for toiletries and the fact that you can sync up your ExtraCare card with this app excites me to no end. Carrying around endless receipts in my purse is such a pain in the you-know-what and I end up losing them or throwing them away. Bottom line: I don’t have the ExtraCare coupons with me when I really need them. I reviewed the Publix app this week and you can’t redeem their digital coupons within the app. I don’t understand why apps do not have deals that you can redeem within the app. It seems to me that deals are one of the purposes of an app. Deals on the app = I’m in your store more often!
Hi Amanda,
I completely agree with you. I always keep my ExtraCare card in my wallet, so that when I go to CVS, I can use it to get coupons. But because I really don’t want to have to carry around all these extra long receipts in my purse, I never actually end up redeeming them. The fact that you can use the CVS app to sync up your ExtraCare card means that I’ll finally be able to save some money, which is always a plus!
Hi Lynette,
Great post! I would never think to download a drugstore’s app. I think the two most useful features sound like the photo and pharmacy options. It’s such a hassle to drop off your photos and prescriptions and then wait around for them to be ready before you can pick them up. Managing everything from your phone sounds like it could take care of a great deal of the trouble.
Hi Nicole,
Thank you for your comment. I don’t really go out of my way to download apps, but I found the CVS app to be really useful, and as you mentioned, a huge time saver. And if an app is able to take care of multiple things for you, such as manage your prescriptions, process your photo orders and allow to purchase items from its store online, it’s much more worthwhile than an app that is only able to take care of one thing for you.
Hi Lynette,
I really enjoyed your post. I love CVS just as much as I love going to Target! I just like the feeling of the store itself, but anyways this app sounds great! I like the photography option. It sounds so simple to be able to print photos off your camera roll and Facebook, no need to put them on a thumb drive and bring them in. I also like how they have weekly ads do to things you that you have previously purchased. I might have to add this app to my phone also. This weeks assignment has got me downloading apps like crazy. 🙂
Hi Cyndi,
Thank you for the comment. I’m glad you have the same feelings about CVS! Their stores are just so nice and addictive. I also loved the photo portion of this app! Anything that makes my life easier is OK in my book.