Walmart Expands Mobile App To Include Prescription Refills And Money Services
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Expansions are part of the retail giant’s overall digital strategy to boost sales.
Walmart has announced the addition of new features to its mobile app for its pharmacy and money services customers, including new ways for shoppers to skip regular checkout lines. The expansion means that now Pharmacy customers can use the Walmart app to refill prescriptions, track order status and view pricing and pickup details, then use express lanes to pick them up. It also allows customers using the retailer’s money services at its 1,200 wire-transfer centers to cash checks, pay bills and send money without paperwork, using the app to complete their transactions, and those services will have new express lanes to speed things up.
“What our Pharmacy business is likely most well-known for is our $4 prescription program that has saved our customers nearly $5 billion,” said Paul Beahm, senior vice president, Walmart Health and Wellness Operations. “Starting today, we’ll be known for saving them more than just money. By developing and combining the best of our app with a service that our customers depend on daily, we’re driving change that makes living better easier.”
According to Bloomberg, the software is part of the retailer’s efforts to improve the customer experience at its 4,700 U.S. stores, which suffered from disorganization and stocking problems in recent years. The expanded app services will roll out starting next month and will eventually be available to all 4,700 U.S. Wal-Mart stores by the fall.
“We’re bringing together all of the conveniences of Wal-Mart -- great stores, convenient pickup, easy checkout and a cutting-edge app -- to deliver one seamless shopping experience,” Senior Vice President Daniel Eckert told reporters at a store in North Bergen, New Jersey.
Eckert said one in five customers conducts a money-service transaction, according to their findings. “These capabilities are the latest example of how we’re bringing together all of the conveniences of Walmart . . . to deliver one seamless shopping experience for customers,” Eckert said in a statement. “By making them faster and easier, we’re living up to our promise – to save customers money and time.”