Walgreens Turning Better Health into Profits

Balance Rewards includes roughly 85 million enrollees, a loyalty program that’s paying off for the drugstore chain.

October 03, 2013

NEW YORK — Walgreens is cashing in on the growth of its new loyalty program that grants discounts to customers based on how much they exercise, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

Since launching about a year ago, the drugstore chain’s Balance Rewards program has enrolled 85 million people, to whom it offers “stingy” (Businessweek’s characterization) discounts based on true sweat equity.

For instance, to receive $5 off through Steps With Balance Rewards, a customer would need to walk 500 miles. Though on any given day, the maximum a customer could earn is 20 points, the amount tallied after a one-mile walk.

Businessweek said while the road to discounts might be challenging, Walgreens is making genuine connections with its customers, especially during computer or mobile log-ins where they can be enticed by shopping incentives.

“I think what’s important to us is finding the secret sauce with every customer,” said Walgreen’s Beth Stiller. “Making sure that we know exactly how we can incent every customer to come into our store more often and find what they need more often.” 

The effort is contributing to a healthy bottom-line for Walgreens. The company posted an 86% increase in profit for the recent quarter.

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