Starbucks Set to Unveil Web3 Rewards Program Next Month

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Updated: Aug 4, 2022, 11:20 UTC

Web3 enthusiasts can expect a full reveal of the company's new digital initiative during Starbucks’ Investor Day

Key Insights:

The company’s Web3 initiative will feature digital collectibles and exclusive content experiences.
The scheme will officially launch next month during the company’s annual Investor Day event.
The move is designed to expand upon the firm’s existing loyalty program.

Earlier this year, it was announced that coffee giant Starbucks is planning to enter the Web3 space with the launch of its own non-fungible token (NFT) collection where the digital collectibles would also provide users with access to exclusive content experiences and other benefits.

True to its word, Starbucks has announced that its new digital initiative will officially launch on September 13 this year during the company’s annual Investor Day event in Seattle.

Rewards Program

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz confirmed during a fiscal Q3 earnings call that the Web3 initiative will expand upon the company’s loyalty program. Starbucks offers a tiered loyalty scheme structure that rewards customers based on each purchase, enabling them to earn free products.

Schultz stated:

“This new digital Web3-enabled initiative will allow us to build on the current Starbucks Rewards engagement model with its powerful spend-to-earn Stars approach while also introducing new methods of emotionally engaging customers”.

Overall, the firm is looking at integrating their loyalty program with Starbucks-branded digital collectibles as both a reward and a community-building endeavour. The overarching goal is to “create an entirely new set of digital network effects” that could attract new customers and will also appeal to existing customers in the company’s core retail stores.

During the earnings call, Schultz also mentioned that the Web3 push is aimed at attracting and retaining a younger demographic into Starbucks’ customer base.

In other news, the company’s quarterly results beat expectations, with a 9% quarter-over-quarter spike in global revenue to a record $8.2 billion.

Web3 Strides

Starbucks first made strides in the space over four years ago when it launched a bean-to-cup project which uses blockchain technology to share traceability data with customers. Not only does the project allow customers to support smallholder farmers, but a reverse code is also given to farmers so that they can track their own produce.

In addition, Starbucks partnered with the digital asset platform Bakkt last year to enable customers to convert Bitcoin (BTC) into the U.S. dollar in order to load the funds onto Starbucks cards.

This means that customers can use Bakkt as a payment method to reload Starbucks cards through the coffee chain’s app. Notably, Starbucks does not directly accept Bitcoin as a payment method in-store, but the move does make BTC payments more accessible.

In a similar fashion, Web3-powered platform Hang raised $16 million in Series A funding round last month to help transition their current membership and loyalty program over to the blockchain by leveraging NFTs.

About the Author

Mohadesa Najumiauthor

Mohadesa Najumi is a British writer who has worked within crypto, forex, financial technology, and the stock market industry. Mohadesa received her MSc in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Amsterdam.