Personalization strategy for the new CVS App.

My role : Product designer, Research and Customer experience strategy on CVS Health app

The Opportunity

Marketing and business partners were eager to explore how the CVS brand could evolve to emphasize health and wellness, focusing on both community engagement and personalized experiences across in-store and digital platforms.

They considered various touchpoints, from community centers dedicated to well-being to in-store displays featuring locally relevant health products like sunscreen and over the counter medications. One particularly innovative concept included a free hydration station, offering water bottles and electrolytes in regions with high temperatures. That's where I was brought in to bridge the gap between the digital experience and the physical brick-and-mortar locations.

Working closely with the strategy team, I developed digital concepts that complemented our in-store initiatives, creating a seamless and engaging experience for customers. This effort wasn’t just about expanding CVS’s health and wellness footprint—it was about creating a unified experience that ties together our digital and physical touchpoints. By bridging these two worlds, we can deliver more value to both CVS Health and customers.

This collaboration also provided a strategic framework for retail, health, and pharmacy teams to explore and implement personalization across the enterprise. The concepts we developed have become a go-to guide for integrating digital and physical experiences, helping us offer a more cohesive and customer-centered approach.

The Approach

Starting with a deep dive into competitors and industry leaders, I developed some initial high-level concepts. To make sure these ideas truly resonated with our customers, brand, and business goals, I led a hypothesis workshop to align our strategies. Recognizing the importance of hydration, I partnered with the research team to conduct interviews with customers in high-temperature regions, gaining valuable insights into their needs and preferences. This collaborative approach ensured that our digital concepts were not only innovative but also deeply connected to what our customers truly value.

With a solid grasp of our customers’ needs and our business objectives, I put together three detailed personas and crafted stories to create empathy maps for each journey. This approach helped us ensure we were addressing our customers' core needs and goals at every touchpoint. By collaborating closely with the team, we were able to align our strategies with what truly mattered to our customers, making sure every interaction was tailored to their specific needs and enhancing their overall experience.

Design Thinking

I used a narrative design approach to fully immerse the team in the customer and patient journey, ensuring we understood them at every step. This process allowed us to craft design concepts for key screens that truly resonated with testing groups. By focusing on the most pressing pain points, we developed innovative, user-centered solutions that addressed immediate needs and created lasting value.

The Vision

Focusing on customer goals while keeping our brand initiatives in mind—and working through technical and legal constraints—I dove deep into the customer journey with CVS Health. This allowed me to uncover some truly exciting omni-channel opportunities.

Collaborating closely with the team, we explored how to seamlessly blend digital and physical interactions, proposing innovative solutions that would elevate the customer experience. This work wasn’t just about coming up with ideas; it created a strategic framework that retail, health, and pharmacy teams could use to personalize experiences across the entire enterprise.

These concepts have become a valuable resource, helping us integrate digital and physical experiences more effectively. By working together, we’ve managed to offer a more cohesive, customer-focused approach that brings real value to both our customers and the brand.