Pharmacy chain Rite Aid recently launched the very first drugstore loyalty program for consumers age 65 and older, appropriately named wellness65+.

wellness65+ builds on the company’s successful wellness+, a free customer loyalty program. wellness65+ includes one special savings-day per month, and 24/7 access to a pharmacist. Members who purchase more also become eligible for greater discounts and additional wellness benefits, such as a gym membership.

The integrated marketing campaign features interesting clips of seniors who engaged actively in various activities such as water-fighting with grandchildren and swimming laps. A full-page ad running in AARP The Magazine shows an older woman on an amusement park ride with a child, with headline copy that reads, “Here’s to suddenly remembering where laugh lines come from. Feeling and living your best. Rite Aid is committed to helping you realize it, with exclusive, new benefits for seniors.”

Rite Aid also launched a 30-city bus tour to promote the program. At each stop, the company will partner with local senior organizations to host community wellness events, including free health screenings, seminars and pharmacist consultations.

Is it working? The company reports that wellness65+ had more than 25 million active members as of the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Those program members also generated 77% of non-prescription sales and 70% of prescriptions filled in the same time period.

MARKETING INSIGHT: This program was probably a reaction to competition from other chains and large retailers like Walmart and Target, who offer discount prescription programs. But Rite Aid obviously sees the benefit of targeting Boomers and seniors – no doubt a large portion of their existing customer base.

Along with this loyalty program, perhaps the next step is to use customer information to develop mobile marketing plans for pharmaceutical products and prescription management, for example – something that would appeal to tech-savvy Boomers. Increasing the size of its senior patient base will also allow Rite Aid to provide additional services (like immunization and medication therapy management) to a demographic that will benefit the most from those services.

Regards,

The Varsity Team