The information, insights, and conceptual solutions described in this presentation are the result of primary and secondary research, our first-hand experience as consumers and lifelong Walgreens customers, and our professional expertise as experience designers. This presentation is intended to illustrate our process and approach to problem solving and digital product design.
Walgreens Mission Statement
Founded in 1901 as a single drugstore, Walgreens is a provider of trusted care in communities around the U.S. Walgreens has a history of breaking new ground to meet its customers' needs and improve their health, from offering self-service stores beginning in the 1950s to developing a highly rated mobile app today.
The company operates through three segments: Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International, and Pharmaceutical Wholesale.
With its brand as a foundation, Walgreens is building its business in four areas: pharmacy, front end, health care services, and consumer services.
Prescription drugs account for about 72% of sales while 28% comes from retail sales (general merchandise, OTC medications, cosmetics, and groceries).
The retail pharmacy landscape is changing with acquisitions by newcomers and competitors like Amazon acquiring PillPack and CVS's acquisition of Aetna.
Retail sales have taken a dip. Walgreens saw front-of-store retail sales decrease by 2.8%, and comparable equivalents fell by 0.9%.
Since most revenue is made from pharmacy sales, companies are now offering digital services to compete with on-demand digital health services, apps, and on-demand care clinics.
The market intelligence we've gathered to date tells us that Walgreens has an opportunity for growth in the following areas.
In the United States, there are ~80 million Millennials. They spend ~$600 billion each year and they prefer shopping in brick and mortar retail stories, particularly drugstores. A focus on millennials and their purchasing patterns will ensure longevity in the pharma space.
Consumers are already familiar with and have embraced flat-fee/annual subscription models for products and services. Medical practitioners are experimenting with similar revenue models to reduce overhead, maximize time with patients, and offer more personalized service.
The intersection of health and technology is redefining how we manage our health. Meanwhile, digital solutions and in-store experiences are converging to enable convenience, consistency, and more positive experiences.
Our research, strategy, design, and technology teams dug into the pharma-retail landscape to benchmark competitors and catalog current offerings and trends to provide the context we needed to inform potential solutions. In total, we generated over a dozen concepts to fill the gaps in the areas we identified.
We evaluated these concepts against our self-defined criteria and ultimately identified two concepts to explore in greater detail.
A multi-device digital solution integrated with augmented reality technology will enhance the traditional retail-optical experience and enable Millennials, Baby Boomers, and everyone in between to browse, try, and buy non-prescription eyeglasses in-store, on the road, or from the comfort of their homes.
Every year, stockpiled medications and medical supplies expire before they can help improve the lives of their intended audiences. This digital platform provides pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders visibility to the critical product data (e.g., location, expiration date, time to destination, etc.) to optimize inventory, reduce waste, and boost revenue.
The U.S. eyewear market was $31.7 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $34 billion by 2023. The U.S. market includes retailers like Lenscrafters, Walmart, and Costco and online retailers like Warby Parker, Zenni, and Topology.
14% of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2023.
Walgreens is piloting a retail optical experience at ten locations in the Chicago area to test the viability of the offering.
As the self-service trend continues to rise across all demographics, digital offers an opportunity to extend and enhance the retail optical experience.
An engaging web-based application will enable customers to browse, virtually try-on, and buy glasses through an in-store kiosk and on their own devices.
We deployed a 21-question survey to the general U.S. population to gauge behaviors and attitudes towards eye exams, purchasing habits, satisfaction with retail and online experiences, and the desirability of a digital solution.
Age
Participants ranged in age from 18 to 75+.
Eye Exam Location
Most have their eye exam at an optometrist's office.
Purchase Location
Most purchase eyeglasses through their optometrist, a local retailer or specialty store.
Purchase & Pickup
Most said the ability to purchase and pick-up in-store is important or very important.
Online Satisfaction
Those who have purchased eyeglasses online noted that they were very satisfied or satisfied with the experience.
Solution Desireability
The desire for a digital solution to enable customers to virtually try-on and purchase glasses was mixed.
Using the research collected to date, our team created 'proto personas' to give our audiences a face and evaluate why they might (or might not) be interested in our augmented reality enabled digital solution.
We defined and prioritized features, capabilities, and requirements for the potential digital solution and organized these into phases based on business and audience needs and the level of effort needed to realize each requirement. The resulting high-level product roadmap is a work-in-progress and will be evolved as additional requirements are gathered.
The solution ecosystem consists of the following components - each one operating in conjunction with the other to deliver a seamless experience.
With over 9,000 Walgreens locations in the continental U.S., using the in-store experience to reach potential customers and communicate this new and exciting offering is not only a no-brainer but vital. We conducted on-site visits to several Walgreens stores in the U.S. to document the current in-store experience and inform our concept. The configuration of the retail concept varies depending on the unique attributes of each location (e.g., location, community demographics, etc.).
Our first configuration either relies on modifications to an existing retail display or the fabrication of a new POP display to include a digital interface which serves as the customer's primary point of interaction. The digital interface enables customers to browse Walgreens' full selection of eyeglasses, simplifying the shopping experience and reducing the clutter of the current POP display.
Our second configuration combines the digital interface from our first configuration with an area for an optometrist or optical sales associate to assist the customer with product selection, fittings, ordering, and pickup to provide more personalized service.
A responsive or adaptive marketing website features the service details, Walgreens' eyewear catalog, an interactive fit-quiz recommendation engine, location finder, links to download the native apps, and access their account.
The responsive website delivers a consistent experience in terms of presentation and functionality across all devices to support SEO and marketing efforts.
The native mobile app for iOS and Android picks up where the responsive website leaves off. The native app lets us take advantage of the mobile device's camera to support augmented reality features that enable customers to virtually try-on frames and elevate the experience.
The app uses the facial scan combined with the recommendations engine to generate intelligent recommendations for frames that best match the customer's facial features. The customer can browse and purchase a recommended frame or choose any frame from the Walgreens catalog.
To use the augmented reality feature the customer simply allows the app to access her device's camera and start the facial scan. The scan captures, stitches together multiple images, and creates a 3D topographic model of her face. The app uses this model to enable the customer to virtually try-on the selected frames.
The universal app is intended to be used to enable this functionality on both the in-store kiosk and the
Walgreens' retail presence and modern technologies will enable us to deliver a superior optical experience to meet the needs of current and potential customers across all audience demographics, spur growth in an existing product and service segment and show Walgreens' dedication to innovation which can positively impact customer retention.
Every year the movement of global inventory including raw materials, WIP, and finished goods contributes to significant losses for product manufacturers and retailers alike.
Consignment and stockpiling of perishable goods require a watchful eye. Every year millions of dollars are lost in products. This is applicable to many industries but is especially important when concerning pharmaceutical products designed to improve and extend our lives.
Our concept apples business intelligence to aggregated data streams, with the intent to better assess, streamline and redefine inventory movement. Through business rules and the latest data practices, transactional recording and analysis, and reporting, the system can intelligently produce indispensable views into global machinations of complex supply chains.
Please contact us to learn more about this project and discuss how we can help you.
Wayfinder is a digital experience design agency specializing in solutions that extend and enhance our clients' brands and enable their success. We plan and conduct research and design and develop websites and applications that educate, enable, entertain, and entice your audiences.
