Starbucks introduced an NFT loyalty program.
Coffee giant Starbucks has launched a new customer loyalty program called Starbucks Odyssey. The company announced this in a blog post. So far, the initiative is available in beta mode among employees of the company in the United States, as well as participants in another program – Starbucks Rewards.
According to the description, the participants of the program have access to a series of entertaining interactive events called “Journeys”. Among these activities are a virtual tour of the Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm in Costa Rica, as well as interactive games.
As each “journey” is completed, program participants will receive rewards in the form of themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the Polygon sidechain. Whether it will be possible to resell NFTs on the secondary market is not entirely clear. In the future, Starbucks plans to deploy an NFT marketplace based on Nifty Gateway to resell tokens.
Members can also earn Odyssey Reward Points, which can be redeemed for “unique merchandise” or receive invitations to exclusive events. The company plans to gradually expand access to the program for new users starting in January 2023.
Recall that many representatives of the cryptocurrency industry were skeptical about the partnership between Starbucks and Polygon. Some members of the crypto community were surprised by the choice of sidechain. Note that community members often criticize Polygon due to high centralization rates.
For the company itself, this is far from the first experience of interacting with the cryptocurrency market. For example, back in 2020, the company offered its users payments in cryptocurrency. The blockchain direction at Starbucks was actively promoted by former CEO Kevin Johnson, who believed that such initiatives would allow customers to exchange value between brands and get a more personalized experience.
