Walgreens takes circular to the digital age
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is following in the footsteps of the likes of Target and Walmart in offering a digital edition of its weekly advertising circular that will offer additional items through Walgreens.com and the company's mobile applications.
The Sunday circular — read by more than 50 million consumers, according to Walgreens — also will get a new look and feel, designed to improve the shopping experience.
“This is the most dramatic refresh we’ve made to the weekly ad in more than two decades, delivering added value for our growing numbers of online and mobile customers, as well as a better experience for those who look forward to seeing it in print,” stated Joe Magnacca, Walgreens president of daily living products and solutions. “We’re giving people more convenient ways to shop and save, and this complements our multi-channel strategy by finding new and different ways to cater to today’s consumers.”
A recent Nielsen study found that more than 70% of shoppers expressed a desire for basic digital delivery of advertising inserts in the future. As traffic to Walgreens.com continues to grow, online views of the circular alone have increased more than 50% year over year, Walgreens reported.
“We know that for approximately half of the visitors to Walgreens.com, their next action is to go to one of our stores to shop,” Magnacca said. “For our loyal customers who don’t use computers or the Internet, all of the items we feature online each week will also be specially-marked in our stores.”
The new design includes coupons grouped together by category on easy-to-find pages as well as sale items featured more prominently throughout. Walgreens has also added “QR codes,” enabling mobile users to quickly view more deals directly from a smartphone. Customers also can visit category-specific Walgreens websites highlighted in the ad or find additional bonus buys inside stores.
The online and mobile circular features hundreds of additional in-store offers, online exclusive pages and other “bonus buys.” Online ads also allow for social sharing via Twitter and Facebook and the ability to create advanced shopping lists, among other features. Those who sign up to receive the weekly ad via email will receive it as a sneak peek, delivered on Fridays. Signup is available online at Walgreens.com/sneakpeek or in stores. Those who register will receive a $5 coupon, Walgreens said.
To view the new weekly ad, visit Walgreens.com/weeklyad.