Walgreens pushes for in-app coupon convenience, adds deals to product pages

By Brielle Jaekel

---

June 29, 2016

Walgreens is making clipping coupons much easier by allowing paperless coupons to be used for online purchases and displaying them on product pages within its application.

The digital coupons were previously only available for in-store use, but now customers can redeem the deals online to better appeal to loyal consumers. Walgreens is now featuring relevant coupons within the product pages on its app and Web site, which only need to be tapped to save.

“Walgreens digital coupons have been extremely popular, with more than 135 million coupons clipped to date, because they are so simple and convenient,” said Adam Crouch, director of digital commerce and product management at Walgreens. “We are now making them even easier in two ways.

“When a customer is looking at a product on Walgreens.com or in our app (say to check inventory in a store near her), if there is a manufacturer coupon available, we will proactively tell the customer right on that product page, and make it easy to digitally clip it with just a tap, and have it automatically applied when she buys the item in store,” he said. “Coupons were previously only visible in the coupons hub, but now that we proactively show customers coupons on the product pages, it opens it up to a whole new set of people who do not regularly use coupons.”

Mobile coupons
Paperless coupons through mobile have now become a staple for bricks-and-mortar retailers such as Walgreens, as they provide convenience while promoting an eco-friendly outlook. Walgreens customers on all platforms can now redeem its paperless coupons.

These coupons will now be much more visible, and allow all users perusing products to see available deals on the specific item. In the past, coupon visibility was limited to the coupons tab, which meant a wide range of users were missing out on the opportunity to use the deal.

Now, customers who are looking up product information or are interested in purchasing online will directly see available coupons for Walgreens items. When a user is interested in a deal, he or she can just tap the coupon and add it to his or her coupons, which will be automatically applied for Balance Rewards customers.

In-store shoppers can present the coupon via mobile at checkout and online shoppers can add it to their purchases.

Walgreens’ mobile efforts
Walgreens also streamlined the in-store checkout process as the first retailer to intertwine Apple Pay with its loyalty program, enabling customers to scan only once to pay and receive rewards (see more).

Also, the retailer’s latest update to its iOS app includes 3D Touch and Touch ID integrations as well as the ability to search certain keywords from the Web to directly access specific in-app features (see more).

“The announcement is another step in our omnichannel retail approach that conveniently connects customers to stores though the Walgreens mobile app or Walgreens.com,” Mr. Crouch said. “Walgreens was one of the first retailers to offer digital coupon in 2014.

“Since the initial launch, we have seen a continual increase in monthly redemptions, with more than 135 million total coupons clipped through the program,” he said.