Walgreens Expands AI-Powered Retail Media With Rokt: What Marketers Need to Know
Walgreens Advertising Group is partnering with Rokt to bring machine learning and AI into a high-intent moment: the order confirmation page on Walgreens.com. The move opens access for non-endemic brands and sharpens targeting across pharmacy, retail, and photo audiences.
For marketers, this is a fresh path to reach millions of loyal shoppers with relevant, measurable messaging after checkout-without adding friction to the transaction.
What's changing
Rokt's tech will dynamically surface offers and messages on Walgreens' confirmation pages, matching promotions to each shopper in real time. Walgreens Advertising Group is extending its audience capabilities so brands can activate against first-party segments while keeping relevance tight and performance trackable.
As Abishake Subramanian, group VP of consumer marketing, loyalty and Walgreens Advertising Group, put it, the aim is to connect brands with a highly engaged customer base and create incremental value for Walgreens.
Why it matters for Marketing, PR, and Comms teams
- Reach beyond endemic: Non-endemic advertisers can now tap Walgreens' scale with contextually relevant post-purchase placements.
- First-party data advantage: Walgreens' pharmacy, retail, and photo audiences bring depth you won't get from broad, cookie-dependent buys.
- Performance clarity: The confirmation page is a clean environment with clear intent, which typically improves response quality and measurement.
- Customer experience intact: Offers appear after checkout, supporting monetization without disrupting conversion.
How to activate smart
- Start with audience fit: Map Walgreens segments to your brand's best converters. If you're non-endemic, lead with utility (e.g., finance, travel, entertainment, wellness adjacencies).
- Design for the moment: Keep creative direct, benefit-first, and easy to act on in a single click.
- Measure what matters: Track post-click conversion, new-to-file rate, and downstream retention-not just CTR.
- Test fast, then scale: A/B headline clarity, offer strength, and imagery. Lock in winners before expanding budgets.
What Rokt brings to the table
Rokt specializes in making e-commerce transactions more relevant using AI and machine learning. The company already works with major brands and retailers, and here it's focused on delivering real-time relevance for Walgreens shoppers while creating a new monetization channel that still centers the customer experience.
Use cases worth testing
- Subscription trials post-purchase for entertainment, fitness, or meal kits.
- Financial services offers (cashback cards, BNPL education) aligned to shopper value tiers.
- Travel and local services promos tied to seasonal peaks and health events.
- Cross-category wellness, beauty, and photo offers that complement recent orders.
Team notes for PR and Comms
- Positioning: Emphasize relevance, privacy-respectful first-party data, and better shopper experience.
- Proof points: Highlight lift in incremental revenue and retention alongside customer satisfaction metrics.
- Messaging guardrails: Keep language clear and benefit-led; avoid overpromising real-time personalization beyond what's supported.
About Walgreens
Founded in 1901 and based in Deerfield, Illinois, Walgreens operates 8,500 stores across the United States and Puerto Rico. The company employs about 220,000 team members, including nearly 90,000 health care service providers.
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