Walgreens-Owned Duane Reade Introduces iBeacon Technology In Stores
By Hannah Ash, contributing writer
Duane Reade Offers iBeacon Integration At 10 New York Locations
As of May 1st, New York City’s largest drug store chain Duane Reade has introduced iBeacon technology to 10 of its locations. The company plans to test iBeacon technology at the 10 select locations before extending it to other Duane Reade locations. The iBeacon technology will alert customers who have downloaded the Duane Reade app to their iPhones that they are approaching an iBeacon-configured location and will deliver shopping list reminders, send customers coupons, product suggestions and reviews based on in-store location and past shopping histories.
As Duane Reade is owned by Walgreens, it is a possibility that the drugstore giant is looking to incorporate iBeacon technology on a larger scale after a period of beta testing. The choice to introduce iBeacon technology in the New York City market could be a strategic one; New York is a busy, crowded area in which stores and deals can easily get lost within its crowded streets. One significant feature of the newly integrated Duane Reade app will be that the technology can sense when a potential shopper is nearing a location and alert the customer as to its location. Though this particular feature might not make sense for a primarily car-transported demographic, for the primarily by-foot New York demographic this technology could deliver large results.
iBeacon and mobile integration appears to be a top priority for the drug store chain. Walgreens is also testing other methods of alerting customers about deals and coupons; the retailer recently announced it had partnered with Coupons.com to put its Retailer iQ technology to work. With the Coupons.com partnership, customers will now be able to use their Walgreens apps to access digital coupons to use in stores. With reports showing that the majority of shoppers sometimes use web-based platforms to make in-store decisions, it makes sense that major retailers are shifting toward leveraging their apps to increase both sales and engagement.