The announcement was made at a mobile commerce summit in front of a number of major retailers.
As the use of smartphones and tablets continues to evolve, so do mhealth services and programs, and in that light, Walgreens has now announced the details of its upcoming mobile strategy.
The annual summit was the venue for several announcements, but it was a considerable one for the health industry.
This was the third year for the event and Walgreens took the opportunity to let the world know that it is moving at full speed into the mobile world with a complete mhealth strategy announcement. It did so with a report that was called “Increasing Customer Engagement with Mobile” which accompanied a presentation. This chain underscored the importance of coming up with new and engaging smartphone and tablet friendly experiences for customers.
The strategy focused on a number of different mhealth efforts that they would be starting or that they have already begun.
The report explained that the company is already experiencing a broad range of different traffic streams. What was vital to their mhealth initiative was that only half of its web hits are now coming from laptop or desktop computers. The rest are all from various types of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and other portable gadgets with connectivity. Among those, 80 percent of the traffic was from smartphones.
The company also pointed out that over half of the prescription refills were now being ordered online, instead of over the phone or in person. This helped to underline the importance of offering digital features and tools over multiple online channels. According to Walgreens research, the earnings generated from the company’s shoppers who use computers, mhealth, and in store options is six times higher than that from the customers who shop only in the store.
This data helps to show the importance of shopping in store but the value of the development of mhealth and online properties. The company also pointed out that this is important for helping to build customer engagement and to enhance loyalty from customers over various shopping channels.