CAMP HILL, Pa., Oct 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE)—Rite Aid today announced that its free customer loyalty program wellness+ was recently awarded the 2011 LEADER Award, sponsored by IBM, as determined by the Shopper Technology Institute.
The Shopper Technology Institute, a national trade organization focusing on best marketing practices using technology, annually presents the LEADER Awards for Excellence at its LEAD Marketing Conference. The award name is an acronym for loyalty, engagement analytics and digital applications. Rite Aid won in the loyalty category.
“From day one, we’ve been extremely proud of wellness+ and the innovative way it combines shopping discounts with health and wellness benefits,” said Craig Riner, Rite Aid vice president, marketing. “To be recognized by our retail peers with a 2011 LEADER Award is welcome affirmation of what our 44 million members have resoundingly told the world—that the value of wellness+ is significant.”
When it was launched chainwide in April 2010, wellness+ was billed as the drugstore industry’s first and only customer loyalty program to provide health and wellness benefits in addition to the shopping discounts and special prices.
“Rite Aid’s launch of wellness+ was impressive for more reasons than growth in front-end and pharmacy sales,” said John Karolefski, executive director of the Shopper Technology Institute, which conducted the awards program on behalf of the sponsor, IBM. “The program promotes good health and wellness by offering rewards such as free screenings for blood glucose and cholesterol. It also rewards purchases of eligible prescriptions. As such, it should be a model for the industry.”
Within the first year, wellness+ was generating buzz among marketers and the social media on which the industry increasingly relies. It was chosen as the top-ranked and most-recommended loyalty program in the country by Zocalo Group Recommendation Index, an independent ranking of organic social media postings. Just last month, Rite Aid announced wellness+ for diabetes, a new loyalty program offering exclusive resources and savings specifically to people living with diabetes and their caregivers.
Rite Aid was among seven private companies, public corporations and product brands recognized at the third annual LEAD Marketing Conference in Chicago, which was attended by more than 200 executives from retail, consumer products and related companies. For more on The Shopper Technology Institute, visit www.shoppertech.org .
Rite Aid Corporation is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with approximately 4,700 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2011 annual revenues of $25.2 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at www.riteaid.com .