Is the Loyalty Program the game changer of the Starbucks app?

With nearly 32,000 cafes across over 80 countries, Starbucks delivers its perfect espresso with its iconic cup. From one corner roasted coffee bean cafe in Seattle to a leveling 80 billion-dollar business over the last 47 years, Starbucks became the revolutionary of the entire coffee brewing industry.

While carrying the misspelled names on your latte cups, have you ever thought about how they became so popular? Suppose you are shaking your head; then you probably know they were doing something different from the beginning.

And, if I say that Starbucks dominates the coffee industry through its rewards program, including its unique Loyalty Program, Do you agree with me?

Still, if you suspect me, here is a fantastic stat.

Starbucks earned almost 40% of its revenue from its Loyalty programs, and In 2021, rewards programs gained over 25 million members, which helped increase sales by up to 7%.

However, a question arises how has it changed millions of people into loyal Starbucks Devotees with its Loyalty Program, or how has the reward program become such a powerful profit tool? So, let’s find the answer to this question, Shall we?

The magic of Starbucks Loyalty Program

Before you know how the loyalty program has changed the corner coffee shop into the coffee industry giant, understand how it works in the first place in the below section.

How does Starbucks’ loyalty program work?

The loyalty program of Starbucks is created mainly to bring long-term customers by delivering numerous rewards, which means their consumers have to spend a few bucks to enjoy those impressive perks.

Starbucks permits its devotees to collect their rewards only by registering on its websites or downloading the Starbucks Rewards app from the play store. Once you have registered your account, you can easily collect your free ad-on, free refills on your favorite brewed coffee, and exclusively those free birthday treats and many rewards.

This sensational coffee house uses a mixed loyalty program, points, and structure programs. Collecting the stars in the Points scheme would be best to gain your cool freebies. Its structure programs have two-level Green and Gold cards with perks.

These free perks tempt customers to get a free coffee with a customizable option like adding their favorite syrup, more espresso, or even changing their regular milk to coconut or almond milk. But you can make up to 400 stars to utilize all of its loyalty programs.

It’s not rocket science, and you can quickly gain those stars by visiting any Starbucks location using your gift card or the Starbucks reward app.

You can also earn stars by scanning the label of Starbucks products for every purchase, such as K-cups, bottles, tumblers, and so on. Their app will alert you to double-star days, fun freebies, games, and special offers to earn your stars.

It will be why Starbucks customers visit the coffee house and their apps and websites ten times more often than any other coffee industry.

Timeline of the Starbucks Game Changer

Starbucks’ loyalty program has played a massive role in the coffee industry for over ten years. Before you analyze how the reward program has become such a powerful profit tool, discover the brewer beans Loyalty program timeline to learn the eight top-notch milestones of Starbucks over the years below while enjoying your evening espresso.

• 2008 April: The grand launch of the Starbucks Card Rewards Program started to bring customers to taste their fantastic pumpkin latte.
• 2008 November: This year, the Starbucks Gold Card was born into the world of coffee. This card permits its super users to get its elite gold loyalty status, who can gain extra freebies and plenty of in-store benefits.
• 2009 November: It’s the most excellent start for Starbucks after consolidating its Starbucks Card Rewards and Gold Card with the name My Starbucks Rewards.
• 2016 February: Global coffee house contributor modified its rewards program from a visit-based structure to a purchase-based. So, their patrons don’t need to visit the cafe 12 times to get a free drink; instead, they gain about two stars for every purchase and should collect approximately 125 stars to get freebies in this bean house.
• 2018 February: This coffee rosters established its first-ever credit card with Visa, which automatically helps its customers register users in its rewards programs.
• 2019 March: This year, Starbucks stepped ahead to consolidate its single-level reward program with its new tiered rewards programs, which permit their devotees to cash in any situation they want. For instance, as a loyal fan of Starbucks, you can customize your favorite drink with your flavor or extra expresso for 25 stars, or else you can trade 400 stars for retail merchandise or coffee ground.
• 2020 July: Starbucks updates its Starbucks Rewards loyalty Program by adding plenty of payment options such as scanning QR codes, paying with cash, debit/credit cards, or paying with your mobile wallet. You can also gain freebies with your stars via the Starbucks app by saving the payment method in the Starbucks app.
• 2022 September: Recently, the sensational coffee industry came up with a new update, Starbucks Odyssey, and expects to be the extension of their Starbucks Rewards program. In Odyssey, users can collect and earn digital stamps(NFTS), which brings new experiences for the coffee aficionado.

How many Starbucks loyalty members are there?

According to Business Wire, 27.4 million active members are enjoying Starbucks loyalty programs as of Q3, which is rising 13% yearly. The United States and China are becoming the top loyalty program users worldwide.

The peak hit statistics of the Starbucks Loyalty Program

It’s time to comprehend valuable statistics about Starbucks’ Loyalty Program, which brought out Starbucks from the dark. Let’s dig into the topic with some Chai Latte.

• In 2018, Manifest contacted a survey for all mobile users who like to use the cafe loyalty app, stating that nearly 48% of people prefer the Starbucks Rewards app.
• Starbucks coffee house attributed 40% of its overall sales to its loyalty program in 2019, and the same cafe increased its sales by up to 7%, as stated by Digital Innovation and Transformation.
• Starbucks has gained 65% of loyalty members who love the personalized offers on their home page, giving access to their buyers’ desired store playlists.
• If the loyalty program’s benefits are certainly communicated, 77% of patrons are encouraged to join the rewards program. In that respect, Starbucks reveals to its customers its rewards programs and how they can earn stars and redeem their free coffee via the website and Starbucks Rewards app.
• According to the E-book, Up close and personal, 78% of people are encouraged to be loyal members of the brand if they are individually recognized and rewarded. Starbucks is the best example of identifying individuals by providing free drinks on their customers’ birthdays.

If these peak hits are tempting you to know the strategies behind the Starbucks Loyalty Program to build your coffee shop app, which provides double the number of profits, then don’t skip the below section while relaxing with the Starbucks espresso roast.

Top engaging strategies behind the Starbucks Loyalty Program

360-degree Patron View

Everyone has endless options to engage with their favorite brands in this digital era. As a coffee shop giant, Starbucks stands out from the crowd by analyzing its patrons using behavioral segmentation, which permits tracking of their customer’s habits and patterns.

This method also helps them to know their usual order, the total amount of time they purchased their espresso, how often they visit coffee shops and when they are arriving.

Once they analyze their patron, they provide personalized offers that the customers want, bringing more customers. Starbucks also states that most of its purchases come from customized promotions. As an aspiring coffee shop owner, you should analyze your targeted audience requirements like Starbucks.

Order your latte and Pay later

It is the primary reason Starbucks has become a dazzling coffee house worldwide. In 2019, most Starbucks Rewards app users ordered their morning coffee through the Mobile Order & Pay later option. It grabs the attention of 35% of people every year to book their favorite drink in-app to avoid the long train.

Mind Blowing Perks

Perks and benefits are the pillars of any brand’s loyalty program. Starbucks coffee house has no exception when it comes to loyalty programs.

This coffee house offers plenty of beneficial perks to its customers, especially free coffee, refills, and birthday perks. Sometimes Starbucks loyalty members can gain double stars for their every purchase under Double Star Days programs.

If you want to design your Coffee shop as Starbucks does, don’t forget to add engaging perks to your loyalty program.

Bonus star Bingo in gamification

Another engaging loyalty program of Starbucks is gamification, which was introduced in 2015. It helps its customers collect many rewards and points at a particular time. Like other programs, gamification holds about 19.4 million engaging patrons who love to play bingo, earn rewards through the app, and redeem with their free perks.

Suppose you want to upgrade your traditional coffee shop app to a trending one. In that case, you can include gamification on your app with promotional programs and simple deals to draw your audience’s attention.

Visit express stores and gain a reward

Starbucks launched this program in 2020 to test the strength of digital customer relationships. It’s an 18-month plan; you can get your roasted espresso in drive-thru cafes, curbside, and store pickups. This transformation is achievable due to the order-ahead capabilities of the Starbucks app.

Suppose you have great ideas for developing your coffee cafe; you can try this strategy to engage your consumers outside the box and gain new long-term customers. So, don’t miss out on the chance and give it a try on your drive-thru orders.

Measuring the customer satisfaction

Starbucks measures customer satisfaction by responding to its consumers’ complaints and delivering the best customer experience.

This coffee house also fills customers’ needs through actions such as Frappuccino Blended drinks, Pumpkin Spiced flavored coffee, and Cake pops which are recommendations of their consumers. Thanks to the patron who suggested the mobile order and pay app service, Starbucks now operates about 20% of its transactions.

So, as an enthusiastic cafe owner, make a vital bridge between you and your consumers and solve their issues to gain engaging customers.

Open to Work With You

Starbucks, the classic coffee house, is open to collaborations. With this strategy, Starbucks gained more foot traffic and plenty of Starbucks Rewards members, and it also earned more new patrons via the partnered shops because of its loyalty program.

The Global coffee house has small to large-scale partners such as Target, and Kroger, who permits Starbucks to their stores. So, both benefits through their collaborations.

So, as a cafe owner, you can confidently collaborate with other retailers and include a loyalty program to get engaging patrons. For instance, you can promote an offer to your customer to buy or let them visit your partner shop to gain a few points.

Exclusive Starbucks Odyssey

Starbucks Odyssey will play a massive role in the upcoming loyalty program stage. Starbucks Loyalty program members can collect digital stamps (NFT tokens) by connecting their accounts.

This coffee giant also helps to gain rewards by completing an activity called a journey. It’s interactive games or fun challenges that will highly engage their customers. Once they have completed their task in the Odyssey platform, they can gain plenty of journey stamps to acquire their perks.

You can also include an exclusive platform with a highly engaging loyalty program like Starbucks to gain new customers and take your coffee shop to the next level.

Encourages retail sales

Starbucks also engages with overall retailers by selling their packaged iced americano at grocery shops.

The coffee house will urge the members to buy that packed coffee to gain stars by scanning the codes on the products to enjoy their benefits. So, Starbucks engages with its customers and encourages retail sales without losing pennies.

Being a contributor to the coffee world

Starbucks became a significant contributor to the hot drink market because of its loyalty programs with magical benefits. According to the web, Starbucks loyalty members are an equal amount of the entire population of New York, and it will be expected to reach 10.3% from 2020 to 2025.

If these strategies of the Starbucks loyalty programs urge you to build a lucrative coffee house with enormous customers, encounter nine important things below and utilize them as Starbucks does.

Nine things you can add to your Coffee shop app inspired by Starbucks

I hope you gained more information about the Starbucks loyalty program, its engaging strategies, and mesmerizing statistics, which answered why the Loyalty Program became the game-changer of Starbucks. Now, it’s time to add some quality beans to your coffee shop to gain more loyal followers, as Starbucks does.

1. If your priority is gaining followers or earning profit from your coffee shop app, you can include loyalty programs while developing your app or updating your existing app, like Starbucks. Still, it would be best if you stood out from the crowd by adding unique loyalty programs with plenty of eye-catching rewards for your patrons.
2. Start personalizing your customers with advanced technologies as Starbucks does and provide customized offers and deals to your patron at the right time to grab their attention.
3. Communicate with your patrons through your websites and coffee shop app by clearly stating your loyalty programs, how the loyalty members can accumulate their stars, what benefits you are having to your consumers, and how they can be redeemed.
4. Coffee aficionados always prefer convenience, so make sure your coffee shop app provides a user-friendly experience to your loyalty members by showing their credit points, availability of rewards, and the offers they can redeem shortly.
5. Don’t forget to build strong engagement between you and your consumers by adding a rewards page that helps your users to access everything at one glance. You can also include social media buttons where users will write a review or make suggestions about your products.
6. To bring a new loyal customer, you can give credit points for every purchase they spend in your coffee shop through your rewards app.
7. Learn to recognize your loyal members by providing birthday gifts such as free coffee and perks, as Starbucks does, and it will double your consumer happiness. So, they will bring the new consumer to your stage.
8. You can also include a referral method to draw more attention from your consumers and friends. For instance, you can give 100 credits to your patron their every referral they make. By adding, you and your customers will gain plenty of rewards; you can earn a new member, and your customer will get 100 points and exciting offers.
9. Lastly, don’t forget to add cool games like Bingo or puzzling, which help your customers to earn points and engage with you while earning considerable rewards and freebies by visiting your shop.

These are the nine aspects you can add to your coffee shop app to gain long-term consumers and doubles your profits as a coffee shop owner. However, if you want to mesmerize the world with your espresso in a short span, it won’t be possible if you don’t select a well-known app developer like Appkodes. They help you to boost your loyalty reward programs with their ready-made coffee shop app on your budget.

Get the Gamechanger of your coffee shop app

If you want to beat your rivals like Starbucks, you should include a more attractive loyalty program than the gigantic coffee house. For instance, you can encourage your expired loyalty members with plenty of unique rewards to make a fresh start who already earn a gold level.

So, as an ambitious entrepreneur, you can add plenty of unique ideas to your coffee shop app to stand out from the crowd just in few weeks with Hitasoft – Loyalty Program Development . Reach hitasoft and share your ideas to boost your coffee shop rewards app.