Starbucks Crafts Deeper Engagement and Loyalty

Two stories about the digital activities of Starbucks are worth your time.  Combined they paint a picture of Starbucks continuing to enhance loyalty and engagement with its most loyal customers.

First up is a new loyalty points capability integrated with Lyft, the Uber ride competitor.  Possibly coming as a part of this, according to the article, is a "lyft" for Starbucks employees who need a ride to work.  Mostly though it allows Lyft users to earn Starbucks loyalty points.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/starbucks-partners-with-lyft-on-shared-loyalty-program/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Creating an opportunity for customers to earn points for food and beverages by simply using the Lyft ride service, coffee-giant Starbucks has entered into a multi-year partnership with Uber’s main competitor, Lyft. Using the My Starbucks Rewards program as the core centerpiece of the loyalty program, anyone that takes a Lyft car to a destination can earn those reward points according to the announcement on the Starbucks Newsroom.

Next is news of Starbucks integration with the New York Times, offering articles within the Starbucks app.  I only use the app for mobile payment to the point where I often forget I have a reward.  Efforts such as this one are meant to get people to use the Starbucks app and use it more often.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/starbucks-boosts-mobile-loyalty-program-with-new-york-times-content

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Starbucks is expanding its partnership with The New York Times to bring top daily articles to its mobile application users and reward loyalty members with points when they purchase print and digital subscriptions, reflecting the growing importance of top-notch content for merchants on mobile.

While the beverage giant has previously tapped The New York Times to bring free content to its customers, this marks the first time Starbucks is integrating the partnership with its loyalty program, which currently boasts 10 million members.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant