A WALGREENS employee has blasted the chain’s coupon policy, arguing it can prevent customers from saving money in-store.
They took to social media this month to issue criticisms, and claimed to have seen several longtime shoppers denied deals.
Walgreens has come under fire for issues with a coupon policy (stock image)[/caption]
“Understandably, our customers are getting pretty angry and upset over this marketing gimmick and it takes all the fun out of shopping,” the alleged staffer wrote of the policy in a thread on Reddit.
“Sometimes, it’s the coupon is what gets them in the door and then they have a meltdown when the online coupons aren’t applied to their purchase.”
“We can’t fix it at the store level either which makes a bad experience worse for everyone,” they continued.
“We are losing our regular customers to CVS over these shenanigans to shift customers away from our stores by forcing them to shop online.”
The Walgreens worker begged the company to “wake up” as they were certain the pharmacy giant was getting “an earful of complaints.”
While they imply that digital coupons aren’t allowed to be redeemed in-store, this isn’t accurate, according to Walgreens’ website.
Walgreens digital coupons, in most cases, can be used at any one of the chain’s over 8,000 locations nationwide, so long as shoppers take two crucial steps beforehand.
First, they must clip the digital coupon to their myWalgreens account through the mobile app or website.
Next, once they arrive at the checkout area in-store, they must enter the phone number that’s associated with the myWalgreens account.
That way, the digital coupons are applied automatically to the transaction.
Customers who don’t clip the digital coupons before the purchase or don’t enter the phone number associated with their account could be denied the discounts.
There are some other factors that could also mean a digital coupon wouldn’t work for a Walgreens customer when shopping in-store.
SOME EXCEPTIONS
The employee emphasized a few situations later in the thread.
Some customers were, according to them, trying to use “online/pickup only coupons” and didn’t realize, for example.
Using Walgreens Digital Coupons In-Store
- Create myWalgreens account on the app, and ensure that myWalgreens is connected to the Walgreens.com account.
- Clip any digital coupon through the myWalgreens app or on Walgreens.com.
- Ensure that your phone number is linked to the accounts.
- Head to the checkout area and simply enter your phone number while making the transaction so the coupons automatically apply.
- Some online-only exclusive coupons cannot be used in-store, only for orders made through Walgreens.com or the myWalgreens app.
Credit: Walgreens
So, these could only be redeemed for online orders, not in-store orders.
Additionally, another consumer attempted to use a digital coupon on a product that already featured a “special discounted deal.”
Those deals seemingly can’t be stacked.
“Example: body wash, now $7. Online has a coupon for $5 off any body wash priced $7.95,” the staffer explained.
“Or where there was a stipulation of ‘cannot combine offers’ was in place.”
“We resolved this by having them place an online order so their coupon could work,” they continued.
“Just remember, some deals in stores are not line and vice versa.”
The US Sun has contacted Walgreens for more information on the digital coupon dos and don’ts.
Even so, several other longtime shoppers at the pharmacy chain cited problems with the “clipped” coupons.
NOT ALONE
A frequent customer claimed they were denied a $3 discount on a $12.49 bottle of Advil despite standing “in the aisle” and clipping the coupon before heading to the register, for example.
“Clerk tells me no coupon on that item. I ask for the manager. She comes, checks and tells me the coupon is for only 3 specific Advil varieties, not the one I’m purchasing,” they fumed.
“I then decided to go to the nearby Target store. For the exact 4 items I would have purchased at Walgreens — I paid $11.25 less, plus sales tax at Target. Done! Finished! Not going back to Walgreens.”
“I’ve seen this before sadly,” another agreed.
Some others said they wanted the pharmacy chain to bring back physical coupon books.
PAPER COMEBACK?
Supermarket chains like Kroger have already made a U-turn to bring back paper coupons after getting complaints from shoppers.
“They are obnoxious in the sense that if you can’t figure out how to use the app, then you won’t get that discount,” a peeved customer, Robin Casagrande, told ABC affiliate WCPO recently.
“They are making it too hard. I mean, seriously,” shopper Pat O’Brien added.
Others have argued that it creates a “digital divide” that particularly impacts seniors who are less technologically inclined.
Paper coupons are again part of Kroger’s weekly digital deals as of last month, despite a brief phase-out.
They can be scanned by cashiers or at self-checkout on a wide variety of products at the retailer’s 1,238 stores.
Along with Kroger, at least four other top stores have quietly changed coupon policies without alerting customers.
Bed Bath & Beyond is also allowing customers to use old paper coupons before the home goods brand went bankrupt at its new stores opening this year and into 2026.
