CVS expands Hispanic-focused 'Pharmacy y más' to Los Angeles

By Daphne Howland | April 15, 2016

Dive Brief:

• CVS Pharmacy said Thursday that it has launched its Hispanic-focused “CVS y más” initiative in nine Los Angeles-area stores.
• The “CVS y más” format, first launched last year in 12 Miami CVS locations, includes bilingual signage and staff, more than 1,500 products favored by Hispanics in California, more competitive pricing on hundreds of products, and new non-pharmacy services like bill payments, domestic and international wireless recharge, and money transfers.
• The project in each area was developed after research into local tastes and needs, according to CVS Pharmacy’s chief of Hispanic consumer growth, Gabe Navarro.

Dive Insight:

Hispanics in the U.S. are, generally speaking, retail’s favored customers—young, digitally savvy, debt-free, and often happy-to-spend. Reaching this group takes some special attention, and just offering Spanish-language communications or ads doesn’t cut it. There needs to be más.

Like CVS, Target has also launched more Hispanic-focused efforts, including an integration into CW sitcom "Jane the Virgin" and an ad campaign, "Sin Traducción," that depict Latino cultural traditions. And J.C. Penney made the move in 2014 to dissolve its Hispanic-only marketing group, choosing instead to integrate its messaging into all parts of its marketing efforts. 

In general, studies show that Hispanics often live in multi-general, multi-lingual households and retain ties to their Spanish-speaking cultures that influence many of their spending choices. Hispanic millennials, meanwhile, are among retail’s most digitally savvy customers; they spend less in stores, but they spend more than non-Hispanic whites, studies show. 

And in some areas with high Hispanic populations, going to the mall or the store is more than an errand. Many shop not just to acquire something or get what they need, but as a “multi-source, multi-sensorial, and multi-generational experience that provides retailers and marketers with a wide range of opportunities to engage,” according to a study by marketing firm Lapiz, a division of advertising agency Leo Burnett. 

Of course, Hispanics are a diverse group, with different backgrounds, each with unique traditions, music, and cuisines. That likely makes CVS’s efforts in Miami and Los Angeles quite distinct from each other. 

"Bringing CVS Pharmacy y más to Los Angeles was a natural next step as part of our goal to better meet the unique needs of our local Hispanic customers," Hank Casillas, area vice president of CVS Pharmacy, said in a statement. "CVS Pharmacy y más stores are designed to become a one-stop shop for local Hispanic residents to conveniently receive best-in-class pharmacy services, as well as customized products and services, in an environment that feels like home."