CVS is betting on its new cabinet unlocking feature to drive more app downloads

On Wednesday, CVS unveiled its new mobile app as part of a strategy to group all its health services and shopping experiences together.
Along with features like prescription and immunization management, CVS announced the official rollout of tech that will allow app users to unlock product cabinets instead of waiting for a store employee. The feature is currently being tested at a handful of stores. The hope is that this will also prompt more shoppers to download the CVS Health app to get in and out of the store quicker. A CVS spokesperson told The New York Times that the app-based program “is an example of how we’re applying technology as possible solutions to a common customer complaint. Customers like the convenience of being able to open the cases and not having to wait for a CVS colleague to help if one isn’t immediately available.”
As Modern Retail reported in November, the tech had been tested in three New York City CVS stores for members of the ExtraCare loyalty program. Walmart is also reportedly testing a similar tech for its in-store merchandise. The announcement comes as more retailers are quietly acknowledging the drawbacks of locking merchandise behind glass cases. While it’s become one of the most common ways for retailers to combat theft, it also can hurt sales and turn off customers if it takes too long for store associates to unlock merchandise. sales. Earlier this month, Walgreens CEO Timothy Wentworth said that having more items in locked display cases “does impact how sales work through the store because when you lock things up, for example, you don’t sell as many of them. We’ve kind of proven that pretty conclusively.”
Some experts believe the technology can help retailers encourage more loyalty through apps.
Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner, told Modern Retail that the good news for retailers is that 70% of U.S. consumers regularly use their smartphone while shopping in-store, according to the 2022 Gartner Cultural Attitudes and Behaviors Survey. In a perfect scenario, the customer already has the app downloaded and just has to open it up and receive a prompt for opening the security case.
However, Jashinsky said that if customers don’t already have the app installed, trying to download it in-store in order to unlock merchandise could make the shopping journey more tedious. “Retailers need to strike the right balance between convenience and security,” he said. “You will lose sales and lose customers if you frustrate a customer by making them go through too many hoops to receive an item.” Jashinsky pointed to a 2023 Gartner survey that found that 39% of U.S. consumers would stop purchasing from a brand if they no longer had a convenient way to get the product.
Jonathan Briskman, principal market insights manager and the market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, said drugstore players like CVS are benefiting from the growing mobile shopping usage. And new features like a mechanism to unlock in-store merchandise could drive even more downloads.
Briskman pointed to Sensor Tower data showing that U.S. pharmacy app downloads climbed 7% year over year in 2024 and were up 20% compared to 2019. CVS experienced the biggest mobile growth across competitors in 2024, with monthly active users rising 31% and downloads increasing by 26% year over year.
“Pharmacies in the U.S. provide a great example of how retailers can leverage their mobile apps to improve the in-person shopping experience, from easily accessing rewards cards to tracking prescriptions,” Briskman said.
He said the retail industry’s continued digitization has become crucial to driving traffic and conversion. This is especially true as mobile shopping becomes the default. “Chinese e-tailers have contributed to the boom in downloads and time spent, as both Shein and Temu continue to expand into new markets in Europe, Latin America and Asia,” Briskman said.
Still, it remains to be seen whether giving customers the ability to unlock their items quicker is the ultimate anti-theft solution.
“I encourage retailers to continue to carefully experiment with using technology to make the shopping experience better,” Jashinsky said. “However, they can’t forget to lead with the customer experience first and thoroughly test whether technology-driven enhancements are improving it.”