Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

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Alpha8472
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Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by Alpha8472 »

The refrigerator doors at some Walgreens have been replaced by digital screens that show huge full motion ads or images of the products and price tags.

I first saw something like this at Walmart on their drink refrigerators near the checkout. Now the digital screens are much more advanced.

Is this too much advertising or do customers like to see images of the products before opening the door. If only there were a material that could let you see the real items inside of the refrigerator.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/sh ... 046051001/
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by storewanderer »

They've been trying this for a while but I have yet to see it. I saw these doors in a convenience store somewhere. Somehow the doors look like false fronts or something. I suspect customers all day are asking if anything is in there and if they are allowed to open the door.
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by veteran+ »

I believe this new nonsense was rolled out in Japan? or was it China?

Too much advertising, IMO, and will result in excessive openings of the doors (energy loss?).

Perhaps lost sales as some may think that there is ONLY the advertised products on the door?

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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by jamcool »

storewanderer wrote: February 13th, 2023, 12:16 am They've been trying this for a while but I have yet to see it. I saw these doors in a convenience store somewhere. Somehow the doors look like false fronts or something. I suspect customers all day are asking if anything is in there and if they are allowed to open the door.
Most of the time the refrigerators are half empty.
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by BillyGr »

jamcool wrote: February 13th, 2023, 5:46 am
storewanderer wrote: February 13th, 2023, 12:16 am They've been trying this for a while but I have yet to see it. I saw these doors in a convenience store somewhere. Somehow the doors look like false fronts or something. I suspect customers all day are asking if anything is in there and if they are allowed to open the door.
Most of the time the refrigerators are half empty.
That would seem to be the biggest problem. People wind up opening the doors more often than they would have otherwise, since they see something on the screen only to find it not available when they open the door. So, then they are standing there with it already open, to see what else they want, or opening multiple doors to look for other options.
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by rwsandiego »

One of the local Walgreens locations (Central and Osborn in Phoenix) has these ridiculous doors. I've seen customers look at the doors and walk away. I've also experienced more out-of-stocks than before. Maybe it's a coincidence, but it would not surprise me if the employees don't notice low stock because they can't see inside of the case when they are walking past. Unless they deliberately go on a hunt for ot-of-stocks, they would not think to check.
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by jamcool »

With the amount of money they probably spent on those video doors they could hire a few more persons in the pharmacy.
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by storewanderer »

rwsandiego wrote: February 14th, 2023, 1:19 pm One of the local Walgreens locations (Central and Osborn in Phoenix) has these ridiculous doors. I've seen customers look at the doors and walk away. I've also experienced more out-of-stocks than before. Maybe it's a coincidence, but it would not surprise me if the employees don't notice low stock because they can't see inside of the case when they are walking past. Unless they deliberately go on a hunt for ot-of-stocks, they would not think to check.
The other problem is before, the employee could stand outside the cooler on the sales floor and assess what was out of stock, then quickly go into the back and fill the coolers (since filling those coolers was typically the responsibility of Walgreens employees, not vendors for some reason despite most of it being vendor items). Now, with these doors, they could go prop the doors open and do that, but it is more difficult. The alternative is to go into the walk in cooler and determine out of stocks from there, but that means more time back in the walk in. Also the shelf tags, etc. are out at the front of the cooler not in the back walk in part.
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Re: Walgreens Replaces Refrigerator Doors With Digital Screens

Post by veteran+ »

storewanderer wrote: February 14th, 2023, 8:21 pm
rwsandiego wrote: February 14th, 2023, 1:19 pm One of the local Walgreens locations (Central and Osborn in Phoenix) has these ridiculous doors. I've seen customers look at the doors and walk away. I've also experienced more out-of-stocks than before. Maybe it's a coincidence, but it would not surprise me if the employees don't notice low stock because they can't see inside of the case when they are walking past. Unless they deliberately go on a hunt for ot-of-stocks, they would not think to check.
The other problem is before, the employee could stand outside the cooler on the sales floor and assess what was out of stock, then quickly go into the back and fill the coolers (since filling those coolers was typically the responsibility of Walgreens employees, not vendors for some reason despite most of it being vendor items). Now, with these doors, they could go prop the doors open and do that, but it is more difficult. The alternative is to go into the walk in cooler and determine out of stocks from there, but that means more time back in the walk in. Also the shelf tags, etc. are out at the front of the cooler not in the back walk in part.
Smart operators have the shelf tag on the inside as well. There are sometimes clip on tag holders on the inside and/or the shelves are made with inside and outside tag holders.

That way it also helps to maintain the set. At least that has been my experience in all the walk in coolers I have seen.

;)
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