Shipt and CVS came together to speak to the future of same-day delivery in a post-pandemic world during the National Retail Federation’s virtual 4-day event NRF Converge.

In the last year, consumers have increasingly turned to same-day delivery services. Services like Shipt are no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have as customers continue to prefer safe and fast delivery.

On June 23, our CEO Kelly Caruso was part of a panel discussion that included Jeff Pilof of CVS and was moderated by Forrester Research VP and Principal Analyst Sucharita Kodali. The event was hosted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) at its 4-day virtual event NRF Converge to discuss how retailers and delivery companies are working together to meet the needs of their customers.  

Here are a few key takeaways:

1. Same-Day Delivery is here to stay
2. The most successful partnerships are truly that, partnerships
3. Great tech is critical, but people will always be at the heart of Shipt

 CVS and Shipt have worked hand-in-hand every step of the way.  Through the partnership we offer both marketplace deliveries that include products found in aisles of CVS stores and prescription-only deliveries which are ordered and fulfilled directly through a CVS pharmacy but delivered by one of our Shipt Shoppers.  And beginning earlier this year, Carepass members - CVS’ membership program - are qualified for free on-demand delivery on eligible prescriptions.  

“If I think about our relationship with CVS ... we offer a couple of different products in a couple of different ways and what it really comes down to is both of us meeting the CVS customer where they are in a way that they want to shop and have their e-commerce orders fulfilled for them with a foundation of strong customer experience,” said Caruso. 

The theme of this year’s 4-day virtual event was focused on the future of retail. During the discussion Caruso stressed while Shipt is a technology-based service, human connection is most important to us. Our offerings will continue to lean heavily on the personalized experience a Shipt Shopper can provide. 

“By working closely with retailers and really understanding what is their retail strategy to fuel their e-commerce sales we are able to co-create ideas of how to come together to provide that great experience in a very cost effective manner to the customer,” said Caruso.  

The panel discussion also touched on the future of transformation in the industry and the power of innovation in supporting ever-changing retailer needs. 

“Innovation is always ongoing and part of our agenda on our path forward. Early on we placed a personal bet on the power of a personal shopper and regardless of how innovation positively impacts our business we also deeply believe that technology without that human element simply won’t be relevant into the future,” said Caruso. 

Below you can watch a clip from the 31-minute discussion.