Shop CVS

Not a New Homepage, a New Retail Engine.

CVS.com/Shop wasn’t broken. It just wasn’t built for what CVS needed to become. With 135M monthly visits and a brand promise of “Healthier Happens Together,” the gap between what shoppers experienced and what the business needed to deliver was significant.

As Executive Experience Design Director, I led the work from competitive pitch through delivery, shaping not just the product but the team, the process, and the client relationship that made it possible.

Role

Executive Experience Design Director
Journey

Pitch Vision to Delivery
Focus

Strategy
Team Structure
Design Ops
Execution
Duration

6-months (2-year client engagement)

The Challenge

Functional. But not a retail engine.

The existing experience treated every visitor the same, whether they were a first-time buyer or a loyal ExtraCare member managing a family’s health needs. No personalization, no omni-channel continuity between online and in-store, no design system that could scale. Shoppers looking for guidance got product grids. The opportunity was to rebuild the platform around how people actually shop for health, and let that drive business growth.

What I Led

The Pitch

We won the business by reframing the problem. Not a homepage redesign, but a platform built around five interconnected drivers: brand purpose, personalization, omni-channel continuity, merchandising, and mobile-first functionality. The goal was an experience that could learn who a shopper was, meet them where they were, and grow more useful over time.

What I Led

The Team

Then I designed the delivery team to match the ambition. Two pods structured across strategy, content, retail media, analytics, and engineering, built to move fast across 30,000+ pages and 87 modules.

What I Led

The Pivot That Saved The Partnership

The harder test came in the first C-suite review. It derailed quickly. The CMO was direct: “I don’t want wireframes, show me pictures.” Rather than defend our process, we redesigned it. Visual-first storytelling in every executive session. A direct partnership with CVS’ Chief Design Officer to get ahead of expectations. Sprint reviews restructured to build alignment before the room, not during it.

Three weeks later, we passed with minimal feedback.

“Excellent work! No one has ever taken the time to demystify user experience the way you have.

Norman D.G., CMO, CVS

Outcomes & Legacy

Eight projects. Two years. One agency of record.

The platform we delivered gave everyday shoppers a more personal, relevant experience while giving CVS the infrastructure to scale without starting over every time. A 281-page style guide, 87-component design system, and 20 page templates built to grow with the business. That delivery established Razorfish as CVS’ digital agency of record, a relationship that has continued well beyond the original engagement.

8

Subsequent Projects

Razorfish became CVS’ digital agency of record off the strength of this work.

2+

Year Engagement

The relationship continues, built on trust earned through a rocky start.