Starbucks Plans To Change Its Customer Rewards Program
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Starbucks is changing the terms of its rewards program so that people who just get a regular cup of coffee will have to spend significantly more to earn a freebie.
The Seattle-based coffee chain says its loyalty program will award stars based on the dollars spent starting in April. Currently, people earn a star for each transaction, regardless of how much they spend, and get a free food or item of their choice after earning 12 stars.
Inspired by our #1 customer request—the new Starbucks Rewards program, coming soon! https://t.co/dBHNIuXXm9 pic.twitter.com/poOb1u6Lyy
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) February 22, 2016
People will now have to earn 125 stars for a free item, with each dollar spent being worth two stars -- meaning they have to spend $62.50 to get their free item. That means that people who now spend around $5 or less per visit are losing out.
For instance, someone who regularly gets a $2 regular drip coffee would currently earn a free item after spending around $24 over 12 visits. Someone who gets a large latte for $4.45 currently spends around $53.40 over a dozen visits before getting a free item.
Reaction to the news was mixed on Twitter.
@Starbucks Super exciting. I love this. Well done.
— Brian S. Gardner (@Brian_S_Gardner) February 22, 2016
@Starbucks that's so not cool. A free reward requires spending of $62.5 when before I could've got it from $24
— Sandi (@neverfallapart) February 22, 2016
@Starbucks Not happy. I'll be visiting #starbucks less & save money. Spend $62.50 to get a free drink!? Not worth it ???????? #sorrynotsorry #fail
— Stephanie (@mssrfcali) February 22, 2016
@Starbucks Nice trick, ultimately asking for more money.
— Bulent ⛰ (@bulentm) February 22, 2016
@Starbucks This sucks. You've just lost a regular 10+ year customer over this. Not customer friendly at all.
— Jon Guidry (@guidryjd) February 22, 2016
@Starbucks It'll now take me 32 drinks instead of 12. I've now lost all incentive to go to Starbucks instead of the million other options.
— Grace Gordon (@gracegordon1564) February 22, 2016
Still, Starbucks Corp. says the change is the No. 1 request among loyalty program members and predicts it will lead to higher spending by customers eager to earn more stars.
In a call with analysts, Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ryan said the vast majority of customers will earn rewards at an equal or better rate with the change. Without providing details, he said a "small minority'' of customers will earn rewards at a slower pace.
The change is not an opportunity to "opaquely reduce'' the value of the program, Ryan said.
The current rewards system can also increase waiting times in store lines, Ryan said, because some people try to get additional stars by asking to ring up multiple items separately. Such instances account for 1 percent of all transactions, he said.
The change comes as Starbucks has been pushing to get more people signed up for its My Starbucks Rewards program. Loyalty members spend three times as much as non-members, and help push up profit, according to the company.
Last month, Starbucks said it had 11.1 million loyalty program members in the U.S., up 23 percent from the previous year.
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