With retailers as diverse as Walmart and Restoration Hardware launching and revisiting existing loyalty and membership programs, CVS became the latest to announce an upgrade that will have multiple effects.
As the COVID-19 crisis winds down, major retailers are reconsidering a range of loyalty, membership and rewards programs, with some looking at how to expand and integrate multiple initiatives that encourage greater consumer participation.
The CVS upgrade will add benefits both to its free loyalty and paid membership programs, which the retailer is leaning on more heavily as it reconstitutes the company shopper rewards program, one that famously counted on very long checkout receipts to deliver discounts.
Now, the free ExtraCare Rewards loyalty program will pay out 2% back in ExtraBucks rewards moments after almost every transaction rather than on a quarterly basis.
Beginning in July, the 2% back in ExtraBucks Rewards that ExtraCare members earn will show up on the CVS App, on CVS.com and on digital and paper receipts. The program is adding a new birthday benefit for its 74 million members, CVS stated. Members can choose to use their rewards on their next visit or let them add up to spend later within 90 days of each respective issuance.
The program change comes as CVS has made app navigation easier, allowing members to more readily view, track and send earnings and personalized deals directly to their ExtraCare cards, the company indicated. The Rewards Tracker function allows customers to see the progress they’ve made toward earned rewards from ExtraCare, the opt-in ExtraCare BeautyClub and ExtraCare Pharmacy & Health Rewards programs, as well as CarePass, the CVS paid membership program, which delivers regular ExtraBucks as part of the deal. CVS intends to announce enhancements to the ExtraCare BeautyClub program later this summer, it stated.
CVS has set special ExtraCare freebies exclusively in the CVS App that will appear through the month of July. ExtraCare members will get a new free gift each week in the app, ranging from better-for-you snacks and treats to health and beauty essentials.
Also, ExtraCare members now can access $3 in celebratory ExtraBucks Rewards during their birthday month. They can use the birthday bucks toward a purchase from the CVS assortment of health and wellness products, beauty brands, everyday essentials, and healthy foods.
The app has enjoyed a double-digit increase in downloads the past year, and the number of coupons sent to user ExtraCare cards from the app have more than doubled, CVS asserted.
“We’ve evolved our ExtraCare program following an in-depth assessment that revealed what members love most about the program,” said Michele Driscoll, CVS Health vp/customer engagement, loyalty and personalization. “They appreciate the value their membership provides, and they told us they want more flexibility in how they access and use their rewards.”
