One might ask why does this make me happy? For one, I'm thrilled that I'll now start to accumulate free money when I have to purchase those "must haves" like toilet paper and shampoo which are frequently from Walgreens. I mean who wouldn't want to be rewarded when you literally pay money to put trash in garbage bags to be thrown out?!
All joking aside, Walgreens is a retailer who's made leaps and bounds in the social space and it's great to see a loyalty program being integrated into their social efforts. When I opened my Walgreens app on my iPhone sign up consisted of entering a zip, phone number, and DOB while the rest of my registration info pulled from my existing profile. The best part is that unlike other loyalty programs who may have been first to market, you don't have to have another key fob on the ring. Much like Starbucks, Walgreens has incorporated a barcode that can be scanned right from your smartphone.
The one downside of the launch is that it appears the program has not rolled out into their stores yet. On the flipside, kudos to Walgreens for generating the buzz early. I'll let you know if my smile comes back in store in 10 days.
I am very loyal to CVS and yesterday, I actually just received my biweekly 25% off coupon AND the ad told me to go online to sign up for double-rewards. I literally just signed up before reading your post.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the double-rewards is in response to Walgreens's new loyalty program. But I still cannot resist CVS. I once had a total of $156 for my purchase and brought it down to $46 by using 4 different coupons. But I am glad to hear your excitement!
Wow reducing the spend by $46 is amazing! Jaclynne, this is great to hear and glad that the CVS program is working for you. Unfortunately I haven't found it to be quite so beneficial on my end but that may also be because Walgreens is typically my go-to pharmacy based on home and work proximity.
ReplyDeleteI've received the dollar off coupons from CVS but have found them very limited on what you can actually purchase to receive the discount. One thing I'm hoping with the Walgreens program is that it's just straight cash off, regardless of items purchased.
You raise a good point and the double-rewards could definitely be in response to Walgreens new loyalty program. Hopefully it will make both programs more beneficial to the consumer and ultimately result in savings passed to us!
i also go to CVS (mainly because of location and that's where i've always gone). i use their rewards program too. i like it, but i think the coupons expire wayyyy to fast. i don't need to by shampoo every week, people!! cripes.
ReplyDeleteoh also, i use a rewards program at Ralph's (grocery store) and they look at what i buy most often and send me coupons in the mail for those items, and the coupons are good for months and months. and they also send me cash back too. that is the best!
ReplyDeleteone more thing...ralph's also has feature so you can go on their website and load digital coupons to your card, which is SO much easier. all coupons should be digital!
ReplyDeletei obviously have a lot to say about these loyalty cards! LOL
I think ralph's is the same as Kroger here in MI, i agree about CVS coupons expiring too fast! i like both CVS and RiteAid, will have to check out this new program for Walgreens!
ReplyDeleteWe have Jewel here which does something similar. Missy, I completely agree with you that all coupons should be digital. That's one part of the Jewel program that is lacking. They will send you coupons based on what you buy when scanning your physical loyalty card during each checkout.
ReplyDeleteThey also offer additional specials online that are customized to each shopper but they don't offer up digital coupons. I wish the offers could be loaded directly into the app and then categorized based on what products you need to buy. Redemption should be as easy as scanning your smartphone. It might take a little getting used to on the front end but I'm sure would be a huge time saver in the long run.
April, I was a fan of RiteAid too but unfortunately don't have here. Walgreens has ton a lot of private label re-branding after the success Duane Reade saw in NYC.
Its good that different business firm uses loyalty program to retain their existing customer and to attract new one too. Walgreens is one of my favorite brand for shopping. It always gave time to time loyalty or rewards program to their customer, which is a good thing.
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