Walgreens adds advance ordering to drive-thru pickup

Walgreens is offering more items at its pharmacy drive-thrus and streamlining the shopping process.

The drugstore giant is rolling out a new digital enhancement to its recently launched “on the spot” drive-thru shopping offering. Customers can now order select household essential and health & wellness products online in advance and then pay for and pick them up at Walgreens’ more than 7,300 participating pharmacy drive-thrus nationwide. 

To order items online and pick up at drive-thru, customers can visit the Walgreens site and enter their ZIP code to find the nearest participating drive-thru location. The process features timely order status e-mail confirmations.

 The curated assortment of more than 100 household essential and health & wellness products were chosen specifically to support the needs of customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Available products include cleaning supplies, select over the counter products such as cough/cold, pain/fever and immunity support, select grocery items, infant formula/adult nutrition, medical supplies, first aid, and paper goods.

“During this current COVID-19 pandemic, we recognized the need for safe, alternative shopping options that helped promote social distancing,” said Richard Ashworth, president of Walgreens. “As a result, we quickly developed and launched this newest digital service – ordering online and picking up at drive-thru – in a manner of just a few short weeks. Walgreens customers and patients now can shop from the convenience of their own homes and pick-up their purchases on their terms. This is another example of our ongoing commitment to adapt to and meet changing consumer behaviors during these challenging times.” 
 
Walgreens is developing additional digital enhancements and pick-up options, expected to be announced later this month. The retailer initially expanded the product assortment available at drive-thru windows with items in late March.

As of Aug. 31, 2019, Walgreens operates 9,277 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with its omnichannel business, Walgreens.com.