USA Today reports that Starbucks plans to introduce "a Chase Visa prepaid rewards card at the end of the year. Customers will be able to use the card anywhere Visa is accepted and earn 'stars' on every purchase, regardless of whether it's for Starbucks items. The company also said that it is "considering other possible debit or credit card partnerships."
The move follows last month's announcement that Starbucks plans to change its loyalty marketing program, rewarding customers based on dollars spent rather than the number of transactions. While the optics of the shift resulted in broad criticisms of the company, especially in social media, USA Today writes that "Starbucks says it hasn't felt the burn: More than 500,000 customers have signed up for the rewards program since the changes were announced, bringing total active members in the U.S. to more than 12 million."
The move follows last month's announcement that Starbucks plans to change its loyalty marketing program, rewarding customers based on dollars spent rather than the number of transactions. While the optics of the shift resulted in broad criticisms of the company, especially in social media, USA Today writes that "Starbucks says it hasn't felt the burn: More than 500,000 customers have signed up for the rewards program since the changes were announced, bringing total active members in the U.S. to more than 12 million."
- KC's View:
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Go figure. Maybe I got it right when I said that the Starbucks loyalty contretemps would end up being much ado about nothing ... and that in the end, if Starbucks' goal is to reward best customers, these decisions are in its best interests.
