{"id":15704,"date":"2022-11-21T20:11:21","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T13:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartdev.com\/?p=15704"},"modified":"2024-07-18T07:55:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T07:55:01","slug":"starbucks-rewards-app-a-perfect-example-of-perks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartdev.com\/jp\/starbucks-rewards-app-a-perfect-example-of-perks\/","title":{"rendered":"Starbucks Rewards App: A Perfect Example of Perks"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were looking for a business model to borrow, you couldn\u2019t do much better than the rewards program Starbucks developed. Whether intentionally or not, Starbucks has become the beneficiary of an interest-free multibillion dollar loan courtesy of its most loyal customers. Sometimes there\u2019s a good idea \u2014 and sometimes there\u2019s an idea so good that it\u2019s incredible no one has ever tried it before. The coffee conglomerate has produced the financial equivalent of the golden goose, or a money tree \u2014 literally getting cash for free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how does it work, and how did they get there? Are rewards programs more than meets the eye? And how can companies can benefit from a digital rewards program?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Starbucks\u2019 Rewards Program: Let There Be Light<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Some of the brightest ideas happen by accident.<\/p><\/div>\n

Starbucks rewards program<\/span><\/a> had quite humble beginnings. It started in 2008 as a simple punch card system, where every tenth drink was free. It\u2019s the kind of rewards program that\u2019s been used basically everywhere forever, and which took very little thought to cobble together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That same year, the company created the Starbucks Gold Card, which gave perks (heh) to what they called \u201csuper users,\u201d which were simply steady customers. These customers would get various bonuses. What they got isn\u2019t super relevant right now. The next year, the company merged the punch card and the Gold card into one system, called My Starbucks Rewards, with various levels of customer status that could be tracked with an app.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The app grew in popularity, with some 10% of purchases coming from the company\u2019s rewards app. The system stayed largely unchanged until 2016, when the company changed its reward structure from per-visit to per-purchase rewards and introduced its star system. And then in 2018, the penultimate step was put in place: Starbucks offered a credit card through Visa, and using it would provide rewards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the point of the story where the caveman rubbing sticks together realizes that if he does it enough he can make fire. It may take time, practice, and luck, but eventually the reward is so huge that it\u2019s a game-changer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Imagine Interest-Free Loans from Customers<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Show<\/p>\n

What really flipped the script was letting customers add money to their rewards card to be spent in the future. Adding money to the Starbucks account gives extra stars that customers can spend later on perks. With so many regular customers and so many locations, this made sense for customers and for the company \u2014 people know they\u2019re going to come back, so why not load up and get the bonuses?<\/span><\/p>\n

Just to be clear, here\u2019s the system:<\/span><\/p>\n