CVS highlights ‘discovery’ in fall assortment

Amid a challenging environment for pharmacy chains, the retail division of CVS is honing its merchandising strategy with a new fall assortment featuring exclusive and trending products “designed to bring an element of discovery to everyday shopping trips,” per an announcement from the company.

The assortment includes Pokémon trading cards, blind-box collectibles, sensory toys, limited-edition snacks, and “throwback-inspired” beauty products.

The elevation of discovery in the shopping experience marks a renewed approach to merchandising for the pharmacy chain that is more focused on chasing trends and keeping assortments fresh.

“We have a lot of customers coming into our store, and it’s the merchant’s job to figure out what the trends are across categories,” Zachary Dennett, interim chief merchant at CVS Health, told Retail Brew.

He said the approach extends to health and wellness, beauty, snacks, and collectibles and toys in particular. “Collectibles, especially among adults, is a national trend that we are observing and therefore leaning into very strong,” he said.

CVS merchants look closely at market data, he added, though the process is “very much a blend of art and science.” In some cases, buyers have a strong intuition about a product, and then CVS makes a limited number of bets. In other cases, it’s gathering feedback from associates about what they are hearing from customers.

While this approach to merchandising has shown success at companies such as Five Below and TJ Maxx, some are skeptical it will be a panacea for CVS.

Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, wrote in an email to Retail Brew that “more interesting beauty and snack products and some collectibles may drive incremental sales,” but CVS is unlikely to become a major destination for many of these products.

In addition to fresher merchandising, Saunders said the company should be sharpening general retail operations, including lowering prices and improving service. “It’s all very well trying exciting new things, but CVS has to get the basics right, too,” he said.