Rideshare Firm Lyft and Coffee Giant Starbucks Announce New Strategic Alliance

Starbucks + Lyft: A Match Made In Heaven

When you think about it, this new move by Starbucks just makes sense.  Already an established success, the company’s My Starbucks Rewards (MSR) customer loyalty program will now partner with Lyft to deliver a new array of benefits for both Lyft customers and drivers.  With the new program, Lyft customers as well as drivers will have the ability to join and participate in the MSR program as gold level members, earning MSR loyalty Stars which they then in turn can redeem for food and beverages.

So obvious it’s brilliant.  What do most people do religiously every morning?  Drink coffee and commute to work.  This new initiative marries the two together wonderfully, and adds even more to the company's current marketing promotions.  Lyft, now having a presence in over sixty-five cities across the United States, brings a big presence to the table and a lot of coffee drinking riders and drivers.  This just makes good business sense for Starbucks.

In addition to this, Lyft drivers will now be able to receive Starbucks eGifts cards from the customers that they are serving.  This element of the program makes it convenient for the customer to show their appreciation to their driver in a more personal manner than cash and it is all executed through the Lyft app, making this a seamless integration and safer than paper currency.

Never one to simply rest on their past successes, Starbucks will also be exploring transportation options with Lyft for their Starbucks partners (this is how the company refers to its employees) who are in need of a reliable way to get back and forth to work.  For many, reliable public transportation options are not available in the markets they work in.  This new program, if successful, could deliver an affordable way for employees to get back and forth to work.  The program is currently being tried in a single test market to determine if the idea has long-term viability.

If you are wondering whether or not Starbucks will stop here, wonder no more.  The new loyalty program has been so well received that the company has made announcements regarding partnerships with the online music service Spotify and the iconic print newspaper giant The New York Times.

What is the My Starbucks Rewards Program About?

Starbucks Coffee was established in 1971 and the My Starbucks Rewards program in 2009.  It allows customers the chance to earn loyalty Stars which can then in turn be used for the purchase of Starbucks food and beverage items.  Starbucks has also begun to deliver this service outside of their locations to selected organizations like Lyft, Spotify and The New York Times.  Starbucks states that they are attempting to create a consumer loyalty ecosystem which can strategically enhance sales and add benefits to its users.