ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

Walgreens must show more in-store mobile savvy: analysis

Walgreens has built a groundbreaking mobile strategy by preaching a wellness philosophy and anticipating customers? needs, but it faces a challenge delivering the same level of mobile experience inside its actual stores, Mobile Marketer?s analysis shows. 

While the nation?s largest drugstore chain has developed one of the best-designed mobile apps, and was among the first big retailers to roll out contactless and alternative payments and to adopt Apple Pay, it still has a lot of ground left to cover in the context of its stores. The evaluation points to Walgreens? need to create more and better connections between the mobile and physical experience to keep growing as it checks out wearables, personal fitness devices and other potential growth areas in the months to come.

?There is so much disruption and transformation taking place among brick-and-mortar retailers, I feel that Walgreens is missing out by not making its wellness-centric approach more prevalent and more connected to the mobile device,? said Vanessa Horwell, chief strategy officer for ThinkInk, Miami. 

?For Walgreens, mobile is the key to in-store engagement, so the two experiences ? physical and mobile ? must be consistent and interconnected.?

Going first
Walgreens, founded 114 years ago, has become a leader and innovator on mobile by constantly daring to try the latest technology first. It recently announced its app's functionality with the new Apple Watch, making it as simple as a single tap for users to order a refill.

?We measure success by the level of convenience we deliver to our customers,? said Kartik Subramanian, director of mobile product and program management for Walgreens, Deerfield, IL.  ?We are always pursuing new ways in which we can remove friction from the customers? interactions with Walgreens? digital services.? 

Refill by Scan, a hit on mobile.

One of Walgreens? biggest mobile successes has been its Refill by Scan service. Introduced in 2010, Refill by Scan allowed users to scan via iPhone or Android the barcode printed on either a prescription bottle label or prescription receipt to order a refill in seconds. Refill by Scan also gave users the option to change their store pickup location as well as the pickup time and day.

Less than four months after becoming available for both iPhone and Android platforms, Refill by Scan had already accounted for more than half all prescription refills ordered through Walgreens? mobile applications.

The chain?s QuickPrints feature, unveiled around 2012, allowed app users to print and manage photos from their phone. The user simply tapped to select photos he or she wished to print, entered photo preferences, applied coupons if applicable, chose a store for pickup and submitted. The service included an option to receive photos in about an hour. 

Last year, Walgreens? update to its iPhone app enabled users to clip paperless coupons and add savings to their Balance Rewards loyalty card as a way to bring added value for users while also driving in-store traffic.

The new coupon clipping feature was available in the Weekly Ad section of the app as well as from the This Week?s Bonus Buys and This Month?s Saving Book areas. 

?To be specific, starting with Refill by Scan, QuickPrints, and Paperless Coupons features on our mobile apps to our Pill Reminder capability on the Apple Watch, all of these are stellar examples of success on mobile for Walgreens,? Mr. Subramanian said.

Walgreens developed its standard-setting app ahead of many national retailers. Incorporating mobile payment capabilities and loyalty program integration, the app allows users to scan a prescription?s bar code to order a refill, attach offers to their purchases and rewards program, and even have in-app chats with a pharmacist.

?With Apple Pay, the app functions almost like a wallet, and it?s how a mobile wallet should be done,? Ms. Horwell said. ?It?s also a great example of how a brand can embed loyalty throughout the entire customer experience with beginning-to-end functionality.?
 
With 72 million members, Walgreens has one of the largest loyalty program bases in the United States. To keep growing, it will need to improve the connections between the mobile and physical experience. 

Quick Prints, serving another customer need.

?People come into Walgreens to pick up prescriptions so they can feel better, and the chain?s hope is that customers will buy other products while they?re in the store,? Ms. Horwell said. 

?It?s equally important to create in-store experiences so that people want to come into the store for reasons other than prescriptions. Walgreens needs front-line employees and sales associates to be their loyalty drivers,? she said. 

Walgreens would benefit from equipping its mobile in-store strategy with more of the personal connections and human touch that also are important components of retailing. 

?What if the prescription counter area, for example, could also become a health hub or larger health resource area for customers?? Ms. Horwell asked. ?What if it offered healthier foods and snacks? 

?Perhaps if Walgreens focused more on the in-store wellness category, more people would come in the door.?
 
Lack of best practices and limited technology knowledge become a natural oversight for Walgreens as the chain ventures into unchartered waters. 

?After Walgreens rolled out Apple Pay, many publications wrote how the technology was slow and clunky within the stores,? said Melissa Greenberg, general manager of Fetch New York.
 
?This may not have been completely Walgreens' fault but it is still a steep learning curve for the largest retailing chain in the United States.? 

Planning strategy
In the months and years ahead, during which Walgreens is expected to participate in and closely monitor the growth of wearables, personal fitness and health devices, it can re-evaluate the technology it implemented early on and apply its learnings to its future strategy. 

Paperless coupons for loyal customers.

?Walgreens' primary reason to focus on this technology is to enhance customer experience,? Ms. Greenberg said. ?If they can successfully implement it, they'll have a have a clear leg up on their competition. 

?They are thinking long-term and realize this technology will be vital in the future.?

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York