As the buzz around NFT continues, another global corporate giant has decided to join the bandwagon.Starbucks, the world’s largest coffeehouse chain, announced during its Q2 earnings presentation that it plans to create an NFT loyalty program that will act as a gateway to a global Starbucks community.NFT collectibles, freshly brewed coffee, and exclusive perks – seems like Starbucks is on to something.
The popular coffee chain says its NFTs will provide “unique experiences, community building and customer engagement,” complementing its current app-based digital ecosystem, according to the post.
In addition to just NFTs, the company alluded to a full-fledged “Starbucks Digital Community Web3 platform” possibly tied to mobile payments in-store.
The Starbucks app is currently the second most used form of mobile payment in the U.S., only behind Apple Pay, with over 30 million active users.
As to which blockchains the company is looking at specifically, Starbucks said little beyond the criteria being “fast and inexpensive.”
“Our approach to blockchain technology, while ultimately likely to be multi-chain or chain agnostic, will certainly start with collections backed by blockchains and infrastructure that is consistent with our multi-decade commitment to sustainability,” the company said in the post.
The company touted its plans to investors on its fiscal Q2 2022 earnings call by explaining how NFTs can help Starbucks extend its brand’s concept of the “third place” — meaning a place between home and work where people can feel a sense of belonging over coffee.
“Emerging technologies associated with web3, and specifically NFTs, now enable this aspiration and allow us to extend who Starbucks has always been at our core,” Starbucks Chief Marketing Officer Brady Brewer told investors on the call. “We are creating the digital third place. To achieve this, we will broaden our framework of what it means for people to be a member of the Starbucks community, adding new concepts such as ownership and community-based membership models that we see developing in the web3 space,” he added.
Interestingly, Starbucks’ announcement comes just after an eye-opening report in the Wall Street Journal which found that the NFT market was “flatlining.” According to the report, NFT sales have dropped 92 percent from its peak in September of last year.
As for how Starbucks plans to use NFTs, it’s still anyone’s guess.
“We plan to create a series of branded NFT collections, the ownership of which initiates community membership and allows for access to exclusive experiences and perks,” reads a blog entry posted by Starbucks on its website in an attempt to further explain its NFT vision. “The themes of these collections will be born of Starbucks artistic expressions, both heritage and newly created, as well as through world-class collaborations with other innovators and like-minded brands.”
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