In the coming year, Starbucks will launch Starbucks Odyssey – a new take on the company’s widely successful Starbucks Rewards loyalty program. Starbucks Odyssey is an NFT-based rewards card which will allow customers to earn and purchase digital assets that unlock exclusive experiences and rewards.
Starbucks has been interested in integrating blockchain technologies into its business for several years, however, Starbucks wanted to ensure that this integration would provide a genuine benefit to its business and consumers. The company believes that Starbucks Odyssey will enhance its business and expand its existing loyalty program. Adam Brotman, the architect of Starbuck’ Mobile Order & Pay system and the Starbucks app, developed Starbucks Odyssey alongside the company’s own marketing, loyalty and technology teams.
Starbucks wants to ensure that the integration of the program is seamless from the consumer’s perspective. When Starbucks Odyssey launches, Rewards members will continue using their existing credentials to log into the Starbucks app. Starbucks’ CMO Brad Brewer commented, “It happens to be built on blockchain and web3 technologies, but the customer – to be honest – may very well not even know that what they’re doing is interacting with blockchain technology.”
Using the Starbucks app, Starbucks Odyssey members will be able to complete “journeys”. These journeys include interactive games and challenges designed to deepen consumer knowledge about Starbucks. For completing journeys, members will be rewarded with “journey stamps”, a digital collectible in the form of an NFT. By collecting stamps, members will get points which can be used to unlock exclusive benefits that go beyond those currently available under the Starbucks Rewards program. Odyssey members will also be able to buy and sell stamps on an exclusive marketplace.
Starbucks opened its waitlist for Odyssey memberships on September 12 and is planning to launch the program later this year. In 2023, once the project is up and running, Starbucks will remove the waitlist and open the platform more broadly.
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