Starbucks Embraces Web3 with Gusto in New Loyalty Program Using Crypto, NFTs

According to story on Geekwire.com, Starbucks is poised to not only enter, but to jump feet first into a cryptocurrency by offering blockchain and NFT payments to its rewards program customers.

Loyal Starbuck’s consumers will be able to earn and purchase collectable digital stamps or NFTs (non-fungible tokens), then buy and sell them in a marketplace with other members of the loyalty program known as Starbucks Odyssey. Commonly known as “Web3,” blockchain technology will authenticate each token and track its ownership as it changes hands in the company’s digital marketplace.

The stamps will entitle users to benefits and experiences, with point values based on the rarity of each stamp. Some examples are access to limited-edition merchandise, an invitation to a virtual espresso martini-making class, or a trip to the Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia farm in Costa Rica, Starbucks said in a statement.

“As many brands just jumped right in, we saw a longer-term potential for this technology rather than a one-off,” said Brady Brewer, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer in an interview with GeekWire.com. ,“We were thinking, how can it augment not just our customer experience but our core business, rather than something that would be on the side.”

It’s Starbucks’ bid to extend the concept of the “Third Place,” a destination apart from home and work, into the digital world. Starbucks believes it will be unique among major brands in rolling out Web3 technologies, at a large scale, as an part of its existing loyalty rewards program.

“In a lot of ways, I think this will usher in a next-generation loyalty model for brands,” Brewer said. “We’re really trying to push the edges of what’s possible here and connect it to our core experience in our core business.”

read more at geekwire.com

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