In recent years, articles on drones have been filled with complaints about their noise, spying capacity and threat to planes. In the last few months, they’ve been hailed as heroes amid the pandemic. Will increased activations during COVID-19 help speed up the adoption of drones for delivery and other retail purposes?

The initial batch of ads arriving since the pandemic have largely embraced similar phrases, set-ups and emphatic tones. Is the American public ready for advertising messages from brands that move on past reassurance and empathy?

Retailers are starting to open drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites to the public for the first time. Are they ready? What challenges do you expect retailers to face rolling out COVID-19 testing?

CVS has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Schnuck Markets’ retail and specialty pharmacy businesses. Is the acquisition of pharmacies operating inside of big box chain stores a growth model that you expect CVS to continue to pursue?

We see many examples of retail industry leaders taking definitive action to protect and serve public interests when other systems don’t or can’t. These are complex issues that challenge retailers to balance business risks with loyalty, sales and profits. They also present growth opportunities. Is it the responsibility of retailers to address gaps in society’s well being?

A classic “buy nine, get one free” loyalty program is often an effective way to squeeze a little more value out of a low- or mid-tier customer. Are these types of programs the right way for retailers to appeal to their very best customers, as well? Do you see a real need for retailers to upgrade loyalty programs/rewards for their highest value customers?

CVS is going national with its CarePass subscription program, which offers free delivery on prescription medicines, over-the-counter remedies and other products with no minimum order, for an annual fee of $48 or $5 a month. Do you expect the results from CVS’ test of CarePass to be replicated on a national level?

Looking to become America’s most loved beauty destination, Walgreens has launched health and beauty offerings to better serve oncology patients from the inside out. What role does empathy, if any, play in retail sales and customer service?

CVS announced yesterday that it plans to add Smile Direct Club’s SmileShops to more than 100 of its pharmacies this year. The decision to add the SmileShops follows a successful 13-store pilot conducted by the two companies across eight states. How successful do you expect SmileShops to be for CVS?

Rite Aid and Walgreens are a half-step ahead of expected federal legislation that will prohibit the sale of tobacco based on age. Will Rite Aid and Walgreens derive business benefits from each chain’s announcement regarding age prohibitions on the sale of tobacco and vaping products?

CVS yesterday has announced that it can make deliveries to customers within hours of prescriptions being filled. The drugstore chain is working with Target-owned Shipt to make deliveries from 6,000 CVS locations across the U.S. Do you expect the demand for home delivery of prescription medicines to grow significantly over the next decade?

CVS is looking to further ingrain their healthcare provider perception with consumers in the Houston area with the test launch of the chain’s first three HealthHUB concept stores. What do you see as the challenges and opportunities for CVS in operating its HealthHUB concept stores?

Move over CVS and hold on Amazon.com, Walgreens last week announced a partnership with FedEx on the nationwide launch of a next-day prescription delivery service. Does Walgreens gain much of an advantage in prescription delivery with its partnership with FedEx?

CVS has been clear that its primary focus is that of a provider of health services and products. Now the drugstore chain is looking to bring that concept to life. What can CVS do to differentiate its health services concept from Walgreens’ new concept and vice versa?

CVS is testing a subscription program that allows members to get free deliveries on prescription medicines and front-end merchandise for $48 a year or $5 a month. Has CVS found an answer with CarePass that will help ward off Amazon’s push into the prescription drug and over-the-counter remedy categories?

Walgreens announced that it will be opening medical testing facilities in 600 of its stores in conjunction with LabCorp, according to Bloomberg. Is improving in-store healthcare services the right move for Walgreens to make?

While CVS has long been in competition mainly with Walgreens and Rite Aid, the retail pharmacy chain’s revamp of its beauty department could signal that CVS has another type of competitor in mind. Will CVS’s BeautyIRL prove successful in helping the chain attract younger consumers? 

Healthcare in the U.S. is changing, and retailers are offering a lot of services that once required a visit to a doctor’s office. Publix has been exploring a new model that is showing signs of success. Do you foresee more upside or downside to customers receiving medical advice via teleconference in grocery stores and other retail stores?

A comparison of private label over-the-counter remedies sold by CVS and Walgreens with those from Amazon.com finds that the brick and mortar pharmacy giants are charging substantially more than the e-tailer on like items. Do you think offering lower prices on over-the-counter medicines will set Amazon up for its push into the prescription drug market?

CVS Pharmacy announced yesterday that it is now offering same- and next-day deliveries of prescription drugs nationwide. What will CVS same- and next-day delivery mean for competitive balance within the retail pharmacy business?

CVS has launched “Beauty in Real Life,” the drugstore chain’s first advertising campaign to portray women as they are without the use of retouching. Do you think the approach being taken by CVS in the “Beauty in Real Life” campaign reinforces its image as a healthcare company?

The last time Walgreens revamped its look and feel, the chain was opening flagships and implementing new store features that added elements of grocery. Now Walgreens is planning an overhauled store format built around healthcare services and partnerships. Is Walgreens in need of a store redesign?

Two of the biggest names in pharmacy are partnering with an insurance company and a ride sharing startup, not to bring medicine to people who need it, but to bring people to their medicine. As more retailers move into healthcare, does it make sense for them to leverage companies like Lyft to provide these types of services?

Helena Foulkes was instrumental in CVS’s decision in 2014 to walk away from $2 billion in annual tobacco sales. Now, she finds herself in a business in which she has no previous experience, and her new employer is touting her as the CEO the company needs to transform its fortunes. Will Helena Foulkes be able to transform Hudson’s Bay Co.’s business?

In recognition of how unrealistic body images can negatively influence health, CVS on Monday committed to significantly reduce the amount the digitally-altered imagery it uses in selling beauty products. How do you think women and girls will respond to CVS’s push for transparency in the beauty category?

In justifying its planned $69 billion merger with Aetna (perhaps to anti-trust regulators), CVS detailed how the entire health care system should benefit from broader use of data and analytics, leading to improved patient health at substantially lower cost. Do you think a merged CVS/Aetna organization could use data and analytics to improve health service and product recommendations and reduce medical costs?

CVS Pharmacy plans to begin offering free, next-day delivery of prescription drugs nationwide beginning early next year as well as same-day service in select cities beginning next month. What impact will free next-day and same-day delivery of prescription drugs have on CVS’s pharmacy and front end business?

CVS’s potential blockbuster takeover of Aetna is being seen by many as a necessary guard against Amazon.com’s speculated entry into pharmacy. Some see ways Aetna could become a major traffic driver for CVS’s 9,700 drug stores. What would a merger with Aetna mean for CVS’s retail competitiveness vis-à-vis Amazon?

The headline on a CVS Pharmacy press release claims the drugstore chain is thinking “outside the box” with its newest tactic to drive sales of over-the-counter remedies. The solution is automated vending machines. Do you expect CVS to be successful with its use of vending units at airports, bus stations, college campuses, etc.?

Three years after removing tobacco from its stores, CVS continues to make changes intended to reinforce its strategic focus on health. Is CVS on the right track with its continued emphasis on health merchandising and marketing?

In the U.K., Asda’s customers in some situations have to use the self-service checkout lane if their purchases amount to less than £100. The revelation came in a Daily Mail article about a customer vowing to boycott the grocer after she was forced to scan 60 items worth over £120 at one of the Walmart-owned chain’s stores. How should shoppers be encouraged or incentivized to use self-checkouts?

CNBC reported yesterday that Amazon.com is hiring an executive to lead its entry into the pharmacy business. Two unnamed sources familiar with Amazon’s plans told CNBC of the planned hire as well as annual meetings the e-tail giant has held in recent years to explore a potential entry into retail prescription medicine sales. What do you think an Amazon.com entry into the retail pharmacy category would look like?

While announcing plans to expand healthier offerings, CVS revealed it is adding more in-store informational signage and “discovery” displays to help customers explore new offerings and health solutions on their own. Does it make sense to infuse more self-help and educational details into the drugstore shopping experience?

Back in April, CVS announced it was making an investment in Curbside, and recently made the decision to take the program chain-wide. How do you account for some retail chains aggressively pursuing click-and-collect programs while others are remaining hands-off?

High-end retailers have long enjoyed dedicated brand affinity with consumers, but now merchants across every tier of retail, from mass to class, identify as brands — not just as places that sell others’ brands. What do you see as the primary obstacles to delivering consistent brand messages for retailers?

Move over Apple, Starbucks, Walmart, et al — CVS Health is getting into mobile payments. The company announced yesterday the addition of CVS Pay to the chain’s mobile app. The upgraded app integrates the payment option with its ExtraCare loyalty program and prescription pickup capabilities.

It’s been a long road for shorter receipts at CVS. Going back to 2009, the chain has been singled out over its long and wasteful paper receipts. Now, the company has announced that its ExtraCare members will have the option of receiving digital receipts rather than printed versions at the checkout. Do you see printed receipts going away in the near future?

CVS and Target have something else in common. Back in June, the two companies announced that Target would sell its pharmacies to CVS. Now, CVS is following Target in making an investment in Curbside, a third-party service. How important is it that CVS help its pharmacy customers save time shopping?

Last year, Target made high-profile moves into the wellness space, both on the sales floor and in the break room. Now Target is making a wellness move that appears to be further carving out the healthy niche it sees itself filling. The chain is debuting a portion of the store called the “Connected Health” section. Could Target become a destination for health-related wireless devices and related services as they continue to grow in popularity?

Costco has been quietly reducing tobacco SKUs in its clubs over the last several years. Do the low margins and high shrink associated with tobacco lead you to the conclusion that many other food, drug and mass retailers will discontinue the category over the next five to 10 years?

One day in the near future, you’ll walk into a Target store. The pharmacy’s logo will still be red, but it will have a heart and read CVS instead of the familiar bullseye. What will be the biggest challenges for CVS as it rebrands Target’s pharmacies?

While cigarette sales may seem at odds with Walgreens’ “Happy & Healthy” messaging, the apparent discrepancy has not been enough to get the chain to follow the lead set by CVS. Do you see Walgreens’ cigarettes sales as inconsistent with its branding message? Does Walgreens’ duty to generate returns for its shareholders mean it has to continue selling tobacco products?

Marking the first anniversary of ending tobacco sales at its stores, CVS issued a study indicating that its decision led to a measurable decrease in the number of cigarette purchases across all retailers. A year after the fact, how would you rate the success of CVS’s decision to stop selling tobacco products and its surrounding PR efforts?

CVS Health is leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce following news the organization lobbied governments overseas to weaken restrictions on the sale and use of tobacco products. Do you approve or disapprove of CVS Health’s decision to leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?

CVS Health has announced the official opening of the company’s new Digital Innovation Lab in Boston with the stated goals of pursuing innovation in mobile, multi-channel e-commerce and personalization. What effect do you expect the lab will have on the company’s brand positioning and, ultimately, its performance?

Target and CVS Health have reached a definitive agreement for the drugstore chain to acquire the mass merchant’s pharmacies and in-store clinics for a deal valued at $1.9 billion. What will the CVS and Target deal mean for each company?

Minority consumers have long complained about being treated unfairly in stores. Now, four former CVS employees have filed suit charging the chain with racial profiling and for terminating their employment after they complained about the practice. How is it that accusations of racial profiling in retail continue to pop up despite company rules against discrimination?

When CVS announced last July that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Navarro Discount Pharmacy, the largest Hispanic-owned drugstore chain in the U.S., the reason behind the deal was no secret. Now, the chain is ready to put what it has learned to the test. Is CVS wise to create its own Hispanic banner?

At a session at NRF’s Big Show on Sunday, execs at three retailers—CVS, REI and Giant Eagle—explored the extensive reach of health & wellness across retail categories and its expanding momentum. Will health & wellness become an even stronger trend driver across categories in the years ahead?

It’s not difficult to understand why retailers that are part of MCX would want to give preferential treatment to the mobile payment system (CurrentC) they are in the process of testing and rolling out. But are they helping their cause by preventing customers from using Apple Pay who would like to do so? Will MCX retailers be hurt by the publicity surround their decision to not accept Apple Pay?