Walgreens First to Team With Foursquare to Offer Immediate Rewards

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. has become the first retailer to offer immediate, scannable coupons in partnership with the social media site Foursquare, according to the Sun Herald in Mississippi.

The convenience store competitor has teamed up with the website for an exclusive program whereby consumers who use an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry smartphone to "check in" at a Walgreens store are rewarded with a coupon instantly available for in-store use.

To redeem the coupon, customers do not need to receive a text or reply to a message. Instead, a Walgreens clerk can simply scan the coupon directly from their smartphone.

According to the news outlet, the first coupon available through this program is 50 percent of all varieties of AriZona iced teas until March 10. Each customer is limited to one coupon and is responsible for standard data rates.

"We're using mobile technology and social media to better engage Walgreens customers, to give them convenient channels to interact with us and deliver products, services and savings they truly value," Sona Chawla, Walgreen's president of e-commerce, told the newspaper. "Foursqare shares our commitment to innovation and together, we've developed some unique, breakthrough offerings that cater to today's tech-savvy consumers. With this program, it's just check in and the coupon is displayed instantly."

Future coupon offers will be announced at a later date, the report noted.