Walgreens 2011 Annual Report Download - page 17

2011 Walgreens Annual Report Page 15
A self-proclaimed “online shopping expert,”
Alana Bowman in Brandon, Mississippi,
carefully evaluates the best websites
for items she uses regularly, such as
makeup, shampoo and skincare products.
Walgreens.com and Beauty.com, recently
acquired by Walgreens, are two of her
favorite sources. “I like to order online
to avoid impulse shopping,” she says.
“I’m always looking for special deals,
coupons and free shipping offers.
I’m impressed with what I find on the
Walgreen sites.”
Walgreens is developing more points of
care so customers have the convenience,
choice and control to easily reach the
Company through multiple channels.
A busy mother with a full-time career, Alana Bowman in Brandon, Mississippi, shops
Walgreens and drugstore.com websites, looking for the specific beauty products she needs
and the deals she wants. “As a single mom with a full-time job, I don’t have much spare time
to seek out these items in stores,” she says. “Walgreens websites make it so much easier.”
To serve customers like Alana, Walgreens is working to become the leading multi-channel
retailer, with the goal to help people find what they want, where they want it and when
they want it. Studies show that a multi-channel shopper is three times more valuable than
a single-channel shopper, which is why Walgreens is aggressively focused on expanding
its e-commerce presence.
The Company’s multi-channel network starts with its more than 7,700 stores at prime
locations convenient to about 75 percent of U.S. consumers who live within five miles
of a Walgreens store. Linked to and supporting the stores is the Company’s website,
Walgreens.com, which puts customers within a click of reaching Walgreens anywhere
in the country, 24 hours a day. Half of the site visitors say their next action is to visit
a Walgreens store. Using the combination of Walgreens.com and Walgreens stores,
customers can order online and pick up their orders in as little as an hour at about
500 stores in four states.
Walgreens uses mobile phone applications as another channel, allowing customers to refill
prescriptions, order photos, browse the weekly ads and more. With smartphones comprising
the majority of new mobile phones sold in 2011, consumers can access Walgreens in the palm
of their hand. They can also access Walgreens through the Company’s on-site pharmacies in
hospitals, worksite clinics, call centers, and social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.
This year, Walgreens expanded its online reach with the acquisition of drugstore.com, based
in Bellevue, Washington. By adding drugstore.com and its sister sites, including Beauty.com
and VisionDirect.com, the Company has gained more than 3 million online customers
and can provide easier access to a wide selection of products and services.
Angelina Lombardo, photo specialist
in Wheeling, Illinois, provides curbside
delivery to a customer using Walgreens
Web Pickup service. This new service,
being tested in about 500 stores
in California, Illinois, Indiana and
Wisconsin, is a convenient way
customers can place day-to-day
shopping orders online to be picked
up at a nearby store, in as little as
an hour. It’s another way Walgreens
is bringing convenience, choice and
control to on-the-go shoppers.