Starbucks might bring Web3 updates to its popular reward program

August 09, 2022

By Anjali Kochhar

Global coffee house Starbucks has plans of introducing a Web 3-enabled initiative to its popular reward program, the company CEO said.

Speaking during the company’s Q3 2022 earnings call last week, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said, “We have been working on a very exciting new digital initiative that builds on our existing industry-leading digital platform in innovative new ways, all centred around coffee and—most importantly—loyalty.”

The company will unveil the new digital initiative on Sept. 13, during its annual Investor Day event in Seattle, according to Schultz.

Further, he said, “We believe this new digital Web 3-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, expanding our digital third place community and offering a broader set of rewards, including one-of-a-kind experiences that you can’t get anywhere else, integrating our digital Starbucks Rewards ecosystem with Starbucks-branded digital collectables as both a reward and a community building element.”

“This will create an entirely new set of digital network effects that will attract new customers and be accretive to existing customers in our core retail stores,” he added.

Starbucks first got into blockchain waters more than four years ago with a “bean-to-cup” traceability project to support smallholder farmers.

Whether customers, employees, or investors will embrace this latest Web3 initiative has yet to be seen. But Schultz positions it as part of a larger transformation planned for the corporate giant.

“We are looking forward to fully showcasing the power and the opportunity of our reinvention plan,” he said.

About the author

Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.