🎬 Every week I share a short (fun!) product video teardown and some hot takes on behavior change. Pro tip: The video only takes 〜3.5 minutes at 2x speed. And it will be more memorable. ;) ⏩
I logged into Starbucks this morning and found a new challenge. They said I could earn 60 points – 60 points!! – by ordering two spinach wraps or two egg bites or two cinnamon drinks within one week. The thing is, I already order these things. I’m basically only ordering egg white wraps or bites. So it looks like Starbucks is just handing me 60 free bonus points for doing exactly what I was going to do anyway.
Why would they do that? It seems like a bad deal for them.
It’s actually not. This is the loyalty program playbook.
Starbucks’ first goal: get you to walk through the door
I’ll use CVS to explain, because they make the math explicit. CVS sends incentives like “spend $30, get $10 back” or “spend $40, earn $5.” That’s a great deal! The thresholds are low on purpose. There are two things CVS and Starbucks both know. First, getting you into the store is half the battle. Once you’re inside, you’ll spend. Maybe you’ll grab something you didn’t plan to, or spend more than you usually do, and they’ve won. Second, if they set the target too high (like, spend $100 at CVS), most people will look at that number, think it’s out of range, and skip the challenge entirely.
The offer backfires if you never even come in, so they work backwards from what you already do.
Back to Starbucks: they are giving me points for doing something I’m already doing. They know I’m not going to suddenly change my order or triple my visits. What they’re hoping is that, instead of coming in an average of 1.5 times a week, I’ll come in a second time to make sure I hit the challenge. And they’re hoping that I’ll stretch it, just a little. Maybe I order something for a coworker, or get a fancier drink than I usually do.
Loyalty programs know behavior change is hard. So they don’t actually try to motivate you to change your behavior. They give you a target that’s in line with what you already do, and they win if you do a little bit more of it, or if it pulls you into the store one extra time.
One thing Starbucks should do (you won’t like it)
Here’s what I want Starbucks to do, and it would annoy a lot of people, but it would also work.
Make loyalty visible.
One reason airline loyalty programs are so effective is that status is public. You board first if you have high status. You get better seats. Other passengers watch you walk past the line. The value isn’t just the upgrade itself (though obviously that’s nice too), it’s that everyone can see that you earned it. We all want to be the person who gets to cut the line.
At Starbucks, what do I get for being a loyal customer? A discount. It’s invisible to other people. My points and my tier exist inside an app that nobody else sees when I walk up to the counter.
Imagine if it worked more like an airline. Gold orders show up at the front of the Starbucks pickup counter. Or maybe there’s a separate line for Gold. Maybe when your drink is ready, the barista calls it out by tier and your name, so everyone in line hears it. Suddenly your loyalty is visible to the room, not just to you and your app. Visible status is powerful precisely because we are wired to care about what other people see. A silent discount can’t do that.
What product teams should steal from Starbucks
Set achievable targets. Mirror what your users already do at the threshold level. If the goal feels out of range, users won’t opt in and you lose the visit entirely.
Design for the small stretch. Getting a user to come in one extra time is realistic. Getting them to transform their behavior is not. Build your incentives accordingly.
Ask whether your loyalty status is visible. A tier that lives only in an account screen is doing a fraction of the work it could. Think about how to bring it into the physical or social experience.
Working on a loyalty or retention project? I’d love to hear what you’re testing — DM me or reach out at kristen@irrationallabs.com.
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