Don't Talk About Love and Do This

Howard Schultz keeps talking about love, but I'm not feeling his love for his employees or customers these days. It looks like they've declared war on their unionized employees. And now they're adding NFTs to their loyalty program, because they think it's going to create tons of engagement in their new digital community.

When will we stop playing all these silly games? We're in a really serious situation and some companies don't seem to get it.

When will we stop playing all these silly games? We're in a really serious situation and some companies don't seem to get it.

Here is one author, Daniel Kline, who isn't beating around the bush in his critique of Starbucks' latest move: "Coffee-bar chain Starbucks has been a leader in the digital space, but its new efforts seem like a terrible idea."

Starbucks Really Wants to Ruin Its Loyalty Program Daniel Kline, Managing Editor of TheStreet

Sharing his full article here explaining why this is such a bad move, and also the latest on the decline of NFTs:

Starbucks?(SBUX)?pioneered the modern loyalty program with its use of its app to drive customer engagement.?

You don't have to place a digital order in order to get loyalty-program rewards with the coffee chain -- top-tier members used to get a gold membership card in the mail -- but you do need to use the app.

Customers download the app, then get rewarded for using it to buy food and drink. It's a good experience because users can customize their orders, getting exactly what they want, and the store saves the expense of taking orders and capturing email addresses.

The Seattle chain thus found a way to increase customer loyalty, drive better in-store and pickup experiences, and collect email addresses by investing in technology. The company created the blueprint that pretty much every fast-food and fast-casual chain uses now.

Starbucks' loyalty program drives repeat visits in three ways, the first being the most important.

1. ?You get free stuff: Spend money at Starbucks and you get rewards points that quickly lead to?free drinks, food and swag like ceramic and reusable coffee cups.
2. It's easy to use:?You can customize your order as much as you want.
3. Starbucks will send you offers:?The chain can use its app and mailing list to drive traffic via deals and special offers.

At the core of the program, Starbucks has offered a high-tech version of a punch card. You buy a few drinks and then you get a free one. It's a simple, valuable proposition that benefits the chain and the customer.

Now, for reasons known only to its executive leadership, Starbucks wants to screw up the system by adding nonfungible tokens to its loyalty-program mix.

Now, for reasons known only to its executive leadership, Starbucks wants to screw up the system by adding nonfungible tokens to its loyalty-program mix.

Starbucks Really Wants to Ruin Its Loyalty Program

Sometimes even smart business leaders overthink things.?

Starbucks has tried various other freebies through its loyalty program (streaming music and ride share), but that's not why people use the app. The chain's customers use the app because it's convenient and, if they use it regularly, they get free drinks and food.

Anything that distracts from that is superfluous. But Starbucks for some reason thinks adding NFTs will improve its program.?

Starbucks outlined the idea on Sept. 12:

Starbucks today unveiled Starbucks Odyssey, a new experience powered by Web3 technology that will offer Starbucks Rewards members and Starbucks partners (employees) in the United States the opportunity to earn and purchase digital collectible assets that will unlock access to new benefits and immersive coffee experiences. Starbucks is one of the first companies to integrate nonfungible tokens (NFTs) with an industry-leading loyalty program at scale, while creating a digital community that will enable new ways for Starbucks to engage with its members and its partners.

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The Boom and the Bust: How NFTs Went the Way of Beanie Babies Amy Castor artnet

Since the beginning of this year, monthly transaction volume on OpenSea, the most popular NFT marketplace, has fallen by 90 percent. In August, the monthly transaction volume on OpenSea was $500 million, compared to $4.8 billion in January, according to?the?Dune Analytics dashboard.?..... Even when common sense says that NFTs have gone the way of Beanie Babies, venture capitalists, and their over-funded projects, will still be shilling them long past the point where we’ve all stopped listing.?