Starbucks Reveals New Digital Initiatives For 2014 Holiday Season
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Reimagined in-store and digital innovations coming to Starbucks for Holiday 2014 and beyond.
At the recent Starbucks Leadership Experience conference in Seattle, the company unveiled a series of new innovations and initiatives to its more than 2,000 district managers in an effort to transform the brand for the holidays and beyond, according to QSR Magazine.
“Holiday 2013 witnessed a seismic shift in consumer behavior in which many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers experienced a decline in foot traffic compared to significant growth in online shopping,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Company in a press release.
“Customers researched, compared prices, and then bought the brands and items they wanted online, frequently utilizing a mobile device to do so. Since that time, we have been focused on radically redefining the Starbucks retail experience for our partners, customers and stores. As a result of the work we’ve done, Starbucks is poised for a great holiday—our innovation pipeline is strong and we have a number of initiatives ready to launch during the holiday and into calendar 2015 and beyond.”
The chain has been working hard to reinvent itself since the end of last shopping season, and have introduced the iconic red Starbucks cup in stores, added innovative and relevant products for holiday shoppers, and introduced a new holiday beverage – the Chestnut Praline Latte – for the first time in five years. Starbucks will also offer the 30th anniversary of Starbucks Christmas Blend, and also introduce a series of 100 unique Starbucks Cards in a complete collection.
Starbucks also will introduce Mobile Order and Pay in stores within the Portland area later this Fall, allowing customers to place orders online pick them up in-store. Starbucks is planning the launch of Mobile Order and Pay in 2015 across the United States, thus extending Starbucks leadership in the mobile commerce arena and continuing the company’s efforts to bring the most innovative customer programs first to market.
Starbucks has also upped it loyalty program game, creating compelling value and benefits for its customers using mobile devices. My Starbucks Rewards™, will deliver more meaningful, relevant and personal rewards to its customers, and offer access to special events, sneak previews of new products and promotions and additional opportunities to earn and redeem rewards across the Starbucks family of brands.
And on December 5, Starbucks will open an interactive Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room dedicated to roasting, coffee education and increased availability of their fast-growing small-lot Starbucks Reserve coffees.
Finally, for holiday 2014, Starbucks is launching a competition that customers can enter to win Starbucks for Life,” by paying with their mobile device or by swiping their Starbucks Card.
“What could be bigger this holiday than winning Starbucks for Life? This is the first time we have ever offered customers something of this magnitude and what better way than to anchor it with our renowned Starbucks Card program. This giveaway is poised to bring great excitement and fun to our customers during this special time of the year,” said Sharon Rothstein, Starbucks executive vice president and global chief marketing officer.