NEW YORK, Jan 29: Gone are the days of waiting for workers to unlock your deodorant and shampoo from behind plastic security barriers. A new feature in the CVS Health app, which was revamped and launched on Tuesday, now allows customers to unlock theft-proof cabinets themselves. This feature is currently being tested in three CVS locations across New York City.

To combat theft, many drugstores in the city have placed popular items behind lock and key, requiring customers to wait for an employee to retrieve them. This has led to frustration among shoppers, with some waiting up to 40 minutes to get their products, as previously reported in investigations of various Walmart, Target, and CVS stores.

Now, CVS customers in New York City who frequent the locations at 630 Lexington Ave., 540 Amsterdam Ave., and 158 Bleecker St. can unlock these cabinets themselves using the updated app. To use the new feature, customers must be logged into the CVS Health app, connected to the store's Wi-Fi, and have Bluetooth enabled.

The feature will expand to 10 to 15 additional stores, with 10 of them located on the West Coast.

Other features included in the revamped app allow users to manage prescriptions, schedule immunizations, and access benefits information. The app also has an AI-powered search function to help shoppers locate items and services, along with educational health articles from Everyday Health and meditation exercises from Headspace.

The new app aims to improve the healthcare experience by making it easier for customers to manage their health and save time. "Our working title was 'the super app,'" said Tilak Mandadi, executive vice president at CVS Health. He added that the app is part of the company's focus on enhancing the healthcare experience for their customers.