Most people live a hectic life these days, planning each and every thing that would take place down the line. But do you know what? Sickness comes uninvited, no matter if you have planned for it or not. There are instances when you suffer from cough, cold, or fever and you seek nothing except immediate medication. That’s where pharmacy app like Walgreens come into the picture. It delivers medicines across the USA within minutes, making it easy to recover from the illness.
Now, if you are thinking of creating an app like Walgreens to expand your pharmacy business, you have come to the right place. Here you will learn all the nitty-gritty of pharmacy app development so that you can turn your dream into reality. Let’s get going with:
A Step-By-Step Guide to Developing An App Like Walgreens
What is Walgreens Mobile App?
Walgreens app is one of the biggest pharmacy chains in America and a part of the retail pharmacy section of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. Currently, the Walgreens pharmacy software has more than 11 million consumers, combining the one who buys medical products online and the rest who purchases essentials from their physical pharmacy stores across the country. The best part of Walgreens as a brand is that it operates in all 50 states of the nation using its cutting-edge app and 8000+ medical stores. In fact, in the fiscal year 2024, a global data and business intelligence platform found that Walgreens had 8,560 stores in the United States of America, including retail stores and healthcare locations.
Below you can see a list of significant steps and considerations involved in building a successful pharmacy app that represents the success of Walgreens delivery app.
1. Define Your Unique Value Proposition
Start by discovering the unique value your medical application will provide to users. Check out the gaps in the market, grasp user needs, and come up with features that will set your product apart from the rivals. For example, the Walgreens prescription app focuses on convenience, a wide variety of products, and advanced healthcare functionalities.
2. Carry Out Market Research
Performing in-depth market research is imperative. Monitor your target audience, competition, industry trends, etc., and get an idea of the challenges users experience with current applications. Along with these, identify opportunities for enhancement to guide your pharmacy delivery app development process.
3. Determine Your App’s Features
Take into account the functionalities that will make your application user-friendly and appealing. Analyze the success of Walgreens prescription delivery app and look at the features they have integrated into their application, such as:
- Barcode scanning
- Pill reminders
- In-app chat
- Personalized discounts
Ensure your app has all the features that align well with user needs and industry trends.
4. Select the Right Tech Stack
Picking the apt tech stack is important to ensure the performance and scalability of your app like Walgreens. Pay attention to the factors, such as operating systems, programming languages, and frameworks. Choosing the right tools, technologies, and resources impacts development time, cost, and user experience.
5. Ensure Regulatory Compliance
Given the sensitive nature of medical data, complying your app with regulations, like HIPAA is mandatory. Make sure that your pharmacy app like Walgreens abides by industry standards for privacy, data security, and legal requirements. This builds trust with customers and avoids legal issues if any.
6. User-Friendly UI Design
Create an intuitive and user-oriented interface. Prioritize certain things, such as easy navigation, clear CTA buttons, and visually attractive layouts. Take inspiration from the Walgreens mobile app that emphasizes a seamless user experience, making the app accessible to a massive audience.
7. Create a Robust Backend
The backend of your engaging mobile app drives all the functionalities. That’s why it is advisable to develop a powerful backend infrastructure to manage user data, transactions, and interaction between the app and external databases. Also, pay heed to scalability in order to accommodate future growth.
8. Incorporate Advanced Features
Strive for success like Walgreens pharmacy software by incorporating advanced features that improve user engagement. Functionalities, such as in-app video calls, e-prescriptions, and order pick-up offer an all-inclusive and smooth experience for potential consumers.
9. Adopt Security Measures
Security is a non-negotiable aspect of the best pharmacy delivery app. Integrate encryption techniques, secure authentication processes, and execute security audits frequently to protect your users’ data. Learn from the commitment of Walgreens pharmacy delivery application to maintain the trust and privacy of its users.
10. Test Rigorously
Executing comprehensive testing is necessary to identify and address bugs, ensure smooth operation of features, and improve the user experience. Do not forget to carry out usability testing, performance testing, and security testing to come up with a well-built and reliable pharmacy delivery app USA.
11. Release and Market Strategically
A well-thought-out launch strategy is essential for your pharmacy delivery app development. Make the most of all the marketing channels, including social media to create awareness about your product. Highlight the functionalities and benefits of your mobile app to attract more users. Comprehend Walgreens’s strategic marketing as it insists on convenience and innovation.
12. Garner User Feedback and Iterate
Once your app built with healthcare app development services has been launched, it is wise to seek user feedback. Analyze user reviews, perform surveys, and view app analytics. Use the given feedback to recognize areas for enhancement and implement updates. Do remember, continuous iteration is key to staying competitive in the market and fulfilling changing user needs.
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Tech Stack Required for Developing an App Like Walgreens Health App
| Components | Description |
|---|---|
| Mobile App Development | Languages: Swift (iOS), Kotlin/Java (Android) Frameworks – React Native, Flutter (for cross-platform app development) |
| Backend Development | Languages: Node.js, Python (Django or Flask), Ruby on Rails, JavaDatabase – MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQLHosting – AWS, GCP, Azure |
| Cloud Storage | Amazon S3, Azure Storage, Google Cloud Storage |
| API Integration | 3rd party APIs for payment, location, and healthcare data |
| Telehealth Integration | Real-Time Communication (WebRTC), Appointment Scheduling |
| Pharmacy Database Integration | Drug Database, Pharmacy Management System |
| Security | SSL/TLS, Encryption, OAuth 2.0 for authentication |
| In-App Chat | Chat SDKs, Real-time messaging protocols |
| Push Notifications | FCM (Android), APNs (iOS) |
| Payment Gateway | PayPal, Stripe, Braintree |
| E-Prescription Services | HL7 FHIR standards |
| Geolocation Services | GPS Integration |
| Testing | Appium, Espresso, XCTest |
Cost of Building a Pharmacy App Like Walgreens
Estimating the cost of creating a pharmacy app like Walgreens is a bit difficult without having the information about what you want to have in your app. The cost can vary hugely depending on the functionalities you want to incorporate, the number of operating systems you want to configure the application for, third-party integration, project complexity, and the location of the pharmacy app development firm.
Generally, the healthcare app development cost like Walgreens falls somewhere between $20,000 to $40,000 or even more than that. When you think of developing an app like this, it is recommended to take your budget into consideration. It is a great idea to connect with a top-notch healthcare app development company to learn about the cost more accurately based on what you want your app to look like.
List of Must-Have Features in a Pharmacy App Like Walgreens
1: Registration/User Account
Custom app development for online medicine delivery is not very common for a large chunk of users out there. Therefore, your app should have an onboarding functionality that can guide users about its features. Post the onboarding screen completes, users should be taken to the account creation page immediately. It is a smart idea to keep this journey as short as possible so that users do not get frustrated. Further, they should be able to manage their profiles, bills, addresses, and the rest of the important information.
2: Upload Prescriptions
An app like Walgreens should allow users to upload their prescription images easily or let them capture the document through a mobile phone’s camera. Please stay informed that there are hundreds of thousands of fake prescriptions available online, so your application should have the potential to find its authenticity before moving forward.
3: A Detailed Description
When ordering medications online, users should know every detail about them. In addition to the image and name of the medicine, your application should show crucial information about that drug. And to ensure this, you can hire mobile app developer from a leading software development company who can display details including name, ingredient, and manufacturer of different medicines. A comparison filter will be the best of all as it enables users to compare several medications.
4: Convenient Tracking
Just like the Walgreens delivery app, your mobile program should have a map integration that lets users track their orders in real-time. Besides that, this feature can also help delivery partners find consumers’ delivery addresses quickly. Developing this feature for your pharmacy app will help in gaining customers’ trust effortlessly. Above all, users should be able to give a ring to delivery partners in case of any delays or they can provide direction-related instructions.
5: Chatbot
If you wish to give your users the best possible shopping experience, having this feature in your app makes sense. Users can ask a wide range of questions about their medicinal materials and get answers from a credible source round the clock. You can feed the FAQs along with the answers into the chatbot and it will provide an automated response to users when asked. However, to get this job done, you need to hire web developer from a renowned app development company on the cloud.
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Wrapping-up
Lastly, you must understand that building a pharmacy app like Walgreens requires a comprehensive approach involving market research, strategic planning, planned development, regulatory compliance, and promising marketing. By focusing on user needs, integrating state-of-the-art technology, and committing to security, your app can make its space and gain recognition in the digital healthcare market. In case you need technical assistance to make your healthcare app development dream a reality, it is a good idea to avail on demand app development services.
