A Closer Look at Starbucks' New NFT Loyalty Program "Odyssey" ☕️
A Closer Look at Starbucks' New NFT Loyalty Program "Odyssey" ☕️
Yesterday, Starbucks officially launched its NFT loyalty program “Odyssey” built on Polygon. Is this next-gen loyalty? Or just a gimmick? Let's find out.
How does “Odyssey” work?
Starbucks Odyssey members can engage in “journeys,” a series of activities, such as playing interactive games or taking on fun challenges to deepen their knowledge of coffee and Starbucks. They will be rewarded for completing journeys with a digital collectable “journey stamp” (NFT).
The more stamps they collect, the more “Odyssey Points” they will earn, unlocking access to digital, physical and experiential benefits, including virtual espresso martini-making classes, exclusive events and trips to Starbucks roasteries and coffee farms.
Starbucks aims to extend its concept of a “Third Place” to a “digital community” that will enable new ways for Starbucks to engage with its members and its partners in creative ways.
Compared to Porsche AG and other brands who entered web3, Starbucks does not have virtual place to meet (cf. Discord) and aims to build up its community entirely around physical experiences in their local communities.
This can make sense for a brand that already caters these communities with its local stores.
Is an NFT needed?
“Web3” has become such a buzzword nowadays that each use-case with NFTs deserves some extra scrutiny. What makes NFTs unique? They enable:
Digital ownership
Transferability
Permanent data storage
This means that compared to non-blockchain-based reward points, NFT-based reward points enable transferability. Starbucks Odyssey members can purchase or sell “journey stamps” (NFTs) through the Starbucks Odyssey market powered by Nifty Gateway. Additionally, members will be able to purchase limited-edition stamps directly, introducing rarity.
This turns reward points into liquid assets and collectors items that users own. Something that could have been done only physically (cf. Club Nintento), can now be done entirely digitally.
💡 This could unlock…
– social value with communities
– entertainment value gamification
– economic value with transferability
… for Starbucks coffee drinkers.
At the moment, it looks like Starbucks tries to do it all, but nothing particularly well. Members don’t have a virtual place to meet (e.g. Discord) to form a virtual community. It’s unclear whether gamification will be as engaging as it has to be and whether users will be adept enough to use Nifty Gateway for trading.
Why does it matter?
Starbucks is one of the first global brands to build a loyalty program at scale on a public blockchain. Polygon Technology is a L2 on Ethereum.
This represents a huge step forward for the entire Web3 community and expands the use cases and audiences for NFT and blockchain technology.
I think NFTs will enable next-gen loyalty, but we'll have to find the right ways to engage customers & build a community. Long-term engagement and community-building will be key.
I'm excited to see what other brands will do.
Odyssey is now in Beta. You can join the waitlist here.
What do you think about Starbucks latest move? Comment below!
That’s a wrap! Happy weekend.
– Marc
Further reading:
Starbucks news release: https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2022/the-starbucks-odyssey-begins/
Polygon news release: https://polygon.technology/blog/starbucks-odyssey-beta-is-now-live-on-polygon
TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/08/starbucks-opens-up-its-blockchain-based-loyalty-program-and-nft-community-to-first-beta-testers/
CoinDesk: https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2022/12/08/starbucks-launches-beta-of-web3-odyssey-loyalty-program/
A more critical view: https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/starbucks-odyssey-into-nfts-desperately-needs-guidance
