Walgreens re-launches its website with expanded shopping tools and services

WalgreensNov 23 2009

Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG), the nation’s largest drugstore chain and a leading destination for health and wellness services, today announced the re-launch of Walgreens.com (www.walgreens.com), offering users a variety of new healthy living and product resources, along with expanded yet simplified shopping tools and services.

The new Web site introduces innovative features that make managing Walgreens prescriptions online easier, as well as photo service enhancements, new mobile applications and a selection of interactive tools to help consumers better understand and monitor their health.

“Walgreens.com has long been a trusted source for health and wellness information,” said Sona Chawla, Walgreens senior vice president of e-commerce. “We pride ourselves on having the most convenient locations throughout the U.S. and now Walgreens is adding greater convenience for our growing numbers of customers who shop with us online. We’ve integrated our content, products and services to offer customers a more holistic online solution.”

With an average of more than 13 million visits per month, Walgreens.com is the most popular Web site among all drugstore-based retailers¹. Some of the features of the new Walgreens.com include:

Enhanced Pharmacy Options

Building on its comprehensive online prescription services, Walgreens.com has launched several new options under the pharmacy tab, adding convenience and flexibility for those who manage and order prescriptions through Walgreens.com.

• Express Refills – Enables customers to simply enter a prescription number online for in-store pickup at their preferred Walgreens location. No log-in is required. Customers can also select a desired date and time for prescription pickup. Those providing an e-mail address can be notified via e-mail when prescriptions are ready.
• Auto Refill – Processes refills automatically and patients receive an e-mail notification when a prescription is ready for pickup.
• Refill Reminder e-mails – Notifies customers by e-mail when one or more maintenance prescriptions are due for a refill. A convenient link in the e-mail allows the customer to go straight to their online account with the prescriptions pre-selected.

Prescription refills ordered online can either be shipped free of charge (standard shipping) or picked up in-store.

Healthy Living

Offering a wide selection of products, health care resources, care guides and calculators for heart risk and other important symptoms, Walgreens Health Shops provide one-stop shopping for products, information and interactive tools covering allergy, blood pressure, diabetes, flu, heart health, pregnancy/new moms and weight loss.

• Healthy Products – Walgreens.com carries most products that are available in Walgreens stores, including vitamins, home medical and health and wellness items, as well as thousands more items available online only. Shipping is free for orders of more than $50 (some restrictions may apply).
• Health Topics – Find timely, relevant information about common health concerns such as allergies, asthma, cholesterol, diabetes, flu, high blood pressure, vision, exercise, pregnancy, quitting smoking and weight loss.
• Interactive Health Tools and Content - Health risk assessments provide evaluations and insight into important areas including diet, exercise, smoking, blood pressure and immunization schedules.

Walgreens.com health calculators help estimate healthy body weight, target heart rate, amount of body fat and more. Health calculators include body mass index, calorie burner counter, target heart rate and others, helping those who are setting exercise goals, seeking health education or simply a resource to stay well. (Note: These tools are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Customers should consult their health care provider about their personal health.)

Shopping Simplified

Walgreens.com has added other time-saving resources, including being able to check availability of products at local stores right from one’s desktop. After selecting a desired product, consumers can go to “find a store” to see if the item is in stock at their nearest neighborhood location.

Customers can also place orders at any Walgreens store for an expanded assortment of products not generally available at its retail stores, which can be shipped either directly to the customer’s home or to the store for pickup.

Photo Enhancements – Easy ImageUpload tool

Walgreens photo services are second only to its pharmacy, offering digital printing, free online photo sharing and storage, online orders for in-store pickup within an hour (subject to machine availability), photo cards and books, calendars and more than 100 personalized gifts. New to the Walgreens.com Photo Center is the Easy ImageUpload tool.

Easy ImageUpload is a flash-based application that allows customers to quickly add images to their online photo albums, making it easier to order prints, share photos and create personalized gifts. Photos and albums can be readily shared through e-mail and a wide variety of social media sites, including Facebook and MySpace.

Walgreens also has added hundreds of new designs to its photo greeting card selection for the holiday season.

Mobile/iPhone Applications

The Walgreens mobile application was designed to bring the conveniences of Walgreens stores to any Web-enabled mobile phone. By entering www.Walgreens.com into a mobile browser, consumers can readily access the following features:

• Online pharmacy and in-store prescription refills – Order prescription refills on-the-go. Users can enter a prescription number and have it ready for in-store pickup, with no registration required.
• Store locator – Find any Walgreens store nationwide when searching by city, state or ZIP code.
• W Photo® - View photos and order prints directly from a Web-enabled mobile device.
• Browse Products – Shop and view product details, prices and customer reviews prior to making an in-store purchase.

For anyone who’s ever taken that great candid picture on a mobile phone and couldn’t wait to get it printed, the new Walgreens iPhone application makes it fast and easy to order prints of images taken from the iPhone. The application includes all the features of the Walgreens.com mobile site, plus:

• Upload and order photo prints – Upload iPhone pictures, or photos from existing albums directly to W Photo online, then order prints for in-store pickup in as little as one hour.
• Find the nearest Walgreens – A GPS-based store locator that lets users find the nearest Walgreens based upon their current physical location.