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Walgreen is finally ready to launch a loyalty card
Chicago Tribune ^ | August 24, 2012 | Reuters

Posted on 09/06/2012 6:53:40 AM PDT by re_tail20

Walgreen Co. will join the loyalty card game next month as it tries to win back millions of pharmacy patrons, a daunting task as rivals CVS Caremark Corp and Rite Aid Corp already have well-established programs.

For years Walgreen, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, said it was just fine without a loyalty card that rewards holders for spending more. Now, after testing formats for a year and a half, and after losing shoppers who had to fill Express Scripts prescriptions elsewhere for most of 2012, the chain is embarking on one of the biggest marketing pushes in its 111-year history.

Heading the introduction of the Balance Rewards card is Graham Atkinson, who led United Airlines' Mileage Plus program before he joined Walgreen as chief customer experience officer in January 2011.

Walgreen's new program blends aspects of airlines' frequent flyer plans and loyalty cards from drugstore rivals and Duane Reade, which the company acquired in 2010.

"This program is all about collecting points, saving up for a treat," said Atkinson. "If we get a more engaged customer, and ultimately a more loyal customer, they will give us a larger share of their shopping wallet."

Walgreen will bring out its loyalty card on Sept. 16, although patrons can sign up starting early next month with a chance to win 10 million points.

"Today, it's kind of table stakes in most retail to have some program for rewarding, incenting, personalizing communications to your shoppers," said Ben Sprecher, co-founder of Incentive Targeting, a software company that helps retailers and brands understand and change shopper behavior. "It absolutely needs to be done, and better late than never."

Walgreen shoppers will earn points for buying certain items, filling prescriptions, getting shots and even participating in a walking program.

(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: walgreens

1 posted on 09/06/2012 6:53:45 AM PDT by re_tail20
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To: re_tail20

CVS...Candy Very Soon

That’s why I try to do the drive-thru rather than go inside...especially after a candy-heavy holiday like Easter or Valentine’s Day.


2 posted on 09/06/2012 7:01:22 AM PDT by moovova (Hope-ium...Time to kick the habit.)
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To: re_tail20

Too Late to get this household back.


3 posted on 09/06/2012 7:01:40 AM PDT by mongo141 (Revolution ver. 2.0, just a matter of when, not a matter of if!)
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To: mongo141

Copycat programs show a limited view of the effects of marketing, and usually fail, unless they have a new, unique feature.


4 posted on 09/06/2012 7:05:09 AM PDT by pingman ("Human history seems logical in afterthought, but a mystery in forethought." (Strauss & Howe))
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To: re_tail20

why dont they just use a card you already have... like your drivers license or something

then once all of them do it we can have universal adoption of a numbering system and ID

which you can get invisibly tattooed on your hand or forehead

and the number will begin:
0110
0110
0110

to make it an identifiable pattern for the readers- and you wont be able to buy or sell without it.


5 posted on 09/06/2012 7:14:16 AM PDT by Mr. K ("The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum [of good]")
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To: re_tail20
Walgreen is finally ready to launch a loyalty card

Crap! When I got the Sunday ads I just threw away CVS and Rite Aid ads because you were required to use their "Spy on what you buy" cards to get the sale price. Walgreen was the only one of the drug stores left I checked for prices. I might have to do what I do at Kroger and grab a new card every month and throw away the old one.

6 posted on 09/06/2012 7:17:56 AM PDT by KarlInOhio ("Government is the only thing that we all belong to"=implicit repeal of the 13th amendment for all.)
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To: re_tail20
I absolutely HATE loyalty cards and the like. If you're going to advertise something at a sale price, go ahead and honor the price for all your customers.

Oh, and before anybody compares my position on this to my position on voter ID laws (which I am strongly in favor of, by the way), let me say this one thing:

Don't even go THERE with me.

Thank you (preemptory anti-thread hijacking mode set to 'OFF')

7 posted on 09/06/2012 7:19:14 AM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (A half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth. (J.I. Packer)
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To: Mr. K
and the number will begin:

0110

0110

0110

There are 10 types of people in the world...

8 posted on 09/06/2012 7:21:48 AM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (A half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth. (J.I. Packer)
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To: re_tail20

I wasn’t a Walgreens shopper anyway. This is the sole reason why we don’t shop at Safeway and they have lost many thousands in sales from my family of five kids and two adults.


9 posted on 09/06/2012 7:23:48 AM PDT by ElkGroveDan (My tagline is in the shop.)
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To: re_tail20

I shop at both Walgreen’s and CVS and Walgreen’s prices are lower than CVS. I hope the card doesn’t change that.


10 posted on 09/06/2012 7:28:26 AM PDT by Retired Chemist
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To: KarlInOhio

I use my 88 y/o uncle’s “loyalty” cards (and one card I found in a parking lot).

They can track all the purchases they want all day and night. None of them lead to me.

Your SOP is interesting though.


11 posted on 09/06/2012 7:39:34 AM PDT by GOPsterinMA (The Glove don't fit.)
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To: mongo141

Me too. I left them because the kept getting my RXs wrong.

The 3rd month in a row, I loudly told them about it and told them I wouldn’t be back. Woman behind me said, “I thought it was only mine they keep screwing up!”


12 posted on 09/06/2012 8:15:01 AM PDT by FrogMom (There is no such thing as an honest democrat!)
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To: FrogMom

“I left them because they kept getting my RXs wrong.”

All four of the Walgreens in my burg have truly awful pharmacies. I’ve never had a single good experience at one, and each time the problem has been new and different.

My slogan for Walgreens is: “If we can fuch it up, we will!”

Our Walmart pharmacy on the other hand is totally outstanding in every way.


13 posted on 09/06/2012 8:36:59 AM PDT by catnipman ((Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!))
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To: catnipman

“Our Walmart pharmacy on the other hand is totally outstanding in every way.”

As is ours!


14 posted on 09/06/2012 2:51:49 PM PDT by FrogMom (There is no such thing as an honest democrat!)
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