Starbucks Conducts Customer Pilot Of NFT-Based Odyssey Rewards Program

Starbucks is one step closer to launching Starbucks Odyssey, a new tokenized loyalty rewards program based on the Polygon distributed ledger. Customers in the United States who participate in Starbucks Odyssey will be able to earn “journey stamps” as rewards. The stamps are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and, once collected, can be redeemed for rewards like exclusive Starbucks-branded merchandise and experiences.

The global coffee brand is leveraging blockchain technology to offer its customers tokenized rewards. The journey stamps are NFTs that will be minted on Polygon and can be collected by participating in activities — aka “journeys” — like playing games and completing challenges in the Starbucks mobile app.

Right now, the Starbucks Odyssey program is in its pilot phase and is expected to expand in 2023 as more functionality and end-user testing is completed. Participants who have collected journey stamps are apparently already flipping the NFTs for nearly $2,000 each.

In somewhat Web 2.5 fashion, Starbucks is one of the first global brands to integrate NFTs (Web3) with a pre-existing loyalty program (Web 2.0) at this scale. Using NFTs to drive loyalty allows enterprises to more intimately engage with their customers and employees compared to traditional loyalty approaches while curating a digital community. It not only connects customers to the company, but also to each other while offering them a sense of ownership when they collect the NFTs.

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