In addition to providing a better customer experience, the tools can encourage customers to spend more and shop at Walgreens more frequently, by providing them with refill reminders, recommendations and advice for products and other services.
The new partnership will help put Walgreens’ digital capabilities on a more level playing field with those competitors, and will also give you an edge over new digital pharmacy companies like Capsule.
“I would say that more than just competing, it will help us really outperform (the competition) and take us into this space,” said Vineet Mehra, chief marketing officer for the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Mehra said Walgreens also has existing assets that will enhance the effectiveness of the new technology, including customer data profiles of more than 100 million people worldwide and stores within 5 miles of nearly 80% of the population of The US The company employs more than 80,000 pharmacists and other health professionals, who will now be accessible by customers for health advice or product recommendations both in person and online.
The new tools will use the information Walgreens customers provide through their loyalty program.
Here’s how technology could change a customer’s experience, according to Mehra: If a customer buys vitamin B every month, at the end of the month when they log into the Walgreens website, their personalized landing page will display a variety of products. of vitamin B To choose from.
If that customer also browses Vitamin C products while shopping online but doesn’t buy any, they may receive a text message the next time they stop by a Walgreens store, letting them know that the product they’re interested in is in stock. When they go in to buy Vitamin C, the customer may also receive a notification that the prescription they had to pick up at the pharmacy the next day is really ready for now. The pharmacist may inform the client that they should receive a flu shot, as they received one at the same location the previous year.
“As we get to know more and more about these people, what you can expect from WBA is a complete transformation in the way we market to customers,” said Mehra. “We will do it in a 1: 1 way, giving them what they need the way they need it, with much more personalized experiences.”
The goal with the new technology, Mehra said, is “mass customization,” something that many retailers aim to offer these days. The company wants to offer a personalized and individual experience to each of the company’s millions of customers.
Digital capabilities are especially important during the coronavirus pandemic, when fewer consumers shop in stores and many have changed shopping habits to shop at new retailers or brands.
“We are talking about the old days of retail where (the retailer) can choose what to sell, where to sell it, and when to sell it. That has completely changed,” said Shelley Bransten, vice president of global retailers and consumer goods at Microsoft. .
“Consumers may not be saying ‘I want customization,’ but they are making incredibly fast decisions based on: How relevant is this product to me? How relevant is the price to me? Can it reach me in an hour? or one day? The retailer is able to feel that and responding in real time is key, “said Bransten.
.
