The Community lesson I take from the new Starbucks Reward program

I’m sitting in my living room, which is full of boxes and bags.

I’m moving next week, that’s why. It’s a bit chaotic in my house right now, but it’ll all be over soon.

Welcome back. This week I want to talk about an update that Starbucks announced recently related to their Starbucks Rewards loyalty program. I couldn’t help myself; I’m a community manager after all, so when it comes to how a product gamifies the experience for their users, I’m all ears.

Let’s jump in.

What used to feel like a very simple and straightforward game of collecting stars per visit (or per order or whatever), has turned into a tier-heavy system that forces you to spend more just to keep up. Is that a bad thing though? Not sure …yet.

Is this about loyalty? Optimization? Or can two things be true here?

Starbucks has introduced a 3-tiered system: Green Gold, Reserve.

At first glance, it seems like an overwhelming amount of detail, per tier. And with Starbucks selling so many different products across food, beverage, and retail products, there’s no question this is about strategy—this is no accident. Starbucks knows what they’re doing.

The more surface area a gamified experience creates, the more opportunities there are to nudge behavior: try this item, add that shot of espresso, stretch just a little further to hit the next reward so you can get a reusable cup. It turns the menu, along with the retail items on its shelves, into a map, and the customer into a player navigating all of it. Again, is that a bad thing though? Starbucks is playing the game too, just as much as its consumers (it’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me).

There’s a tradeoff here. Is Starbucks neglecting to think about it's audience who’s just running in on their way to work, in a rush, and just needs a coffee to go? Even if that’s not the persona, there’s still the consumer who just wants a coffee, and doesn’t want any of the bells and whistles to go along with it (or that could go along with it). No added questions presented to them at checkout either. They just want a coffee and maybe a breakfast sandwich (shoutout to those; delicious).

Sure, the breakdown of the new tiers and what you can achieve and receive as a result, might look like a whole world of possibility. But if you’re adding too much choice to what people can get, and designing too many steps in the ‘game,’ friction is inevitable. Even in small doses, it compounds over time. At the same time, for Starbucks’ superfans, this kind of system can be like igniting a fire. More levers to pull, more ways to win, more reasons to stay locked in. The game gets deeper—and for a small segment, even more addictive. Good on Starbucks. Again: This is about strategy.

For me though? I saw the new tiers and all I could do, as I shared on Linkedin, was think of my lil old physical Starbucks Gold Card, back in early 2010s. That thing had me feeling a new kind of special.

I’m not too invested in this new tier system. But one’s things for sure, I’m not going to stop being a Starbucks customer. I’m going to do my thing, and if tiers change, cool. If they don’t, I wasn’t invested enough to begin with. And to be honest, there are too many details for me to want to follow or stay invested in.

What lesson is there to learn here? Well, I work in Community, so there are probably more than I can think of right now. For one, incentives don’t just drive behavior—they shape sentiment and perception. And the moment your “game” starts to feel like work for your end user, you’re no longer building loyalty, you’re testing it. But, can good come out of testing it? Or will the brand lose that loyalty long term as a result? What do you think?

Thanks for reading and for being here. I don’t take for granted that you care what I have to say. Or even if you don’t care, and you’re still here; thanks for being a fan anyway. ❣️

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