Starbucks: Using Big Data, Analytics And Artificial Intelligence To Boost Performance
23 July 2021
Not only does Starbucks go through mounds of coffee beans to satiate its raving fans, but they also have mounds of data that they leverage in many ways to improve the customer experience and their business. With 90 million transactions a week in 25,000 stores worldwide the coffee giant is in many ways on the cutting edge of using big data and artificial intelligence to help direct marketing, sales and business decisions

Starbucks Rewards and Mobile App
When Starbucks launched its rewards program and mobile app, they dramatically increased the data they collected and could use to get to know their customers and extract info about purchasing habits. The mobile app has more than 17 million and the reward program has 13 million active users. These users alone create an overwhelming amount of data about what, where and when they buy coffee and complementary products that can be overlaid on other data including weather, holidays and special promotions. Here are just some of the ways that Starbucks uses the data it collects.
Personalizing the Starbucks experience
Members of the rewards program and mobile app authorize Starbucks to gather a lot of info about their coffee-buying habits from their preferred drinks to what time of day they’re usually ordering. So, even when people visit a “new” Starbucks location, that store’s point-of-sale system is able to identify the customer through their smartphone and give the barista their preferred order. In addition, based on ordering preferences, the app will suggest new products (and treats) customers might be interested in trying. This intel is driven by the company’s digital flywheel program, a cloud-based artificial intelligence engine that’s able to recommend food and drink items to customers who didn’t even know, yet, they wanted to try something new. It’s so sophisticated that the recommendations will change based on what makes the most sense according to the day’s weather, if it’s a holiday or a weekday, and what location you’re at.
Targeted and personalized marketing
The same intel that helps Starbucks suggest new products for to try also helps the company send personalized offers and discounts that go far beyond a special birthday discount. Additionally, a customized email goes out to any customer who hasn’t visited a Starbucks recently with enticing offers—built from that individual’s purchase history—to re-engage them.
Related Articles
The Best Examples Of Digital Twins Everyone Should Know About
The digital twin is an exciting concept and undoubtedly one of the hottest tech trends right now.[...]
What Are The Most In-Demand AI Skills?
It’s predicted that 97 million jobs involving artificial intelligence (AI) will be created between 2022 and 2025. AI has the potential to transform every industry[...]
Human Vs. Artificial Intelligence: Why Finding The Right Balance Is Key To Success
Welcome to the age of blended workforces, where intelligent machines and humans combine to accelerate business success.[...]
10 Skills Robots Can’t Replace In The Workplace (Yet)
Machines can now do many things we would have deemed impossible a few decades ago – but there are still human skills robots can’t yet replace.[...]
The Biggest Technology Trends In Wine And Winemaking
When we think about the wine business, the images that come to mind might be more of vineyards stretching across the French countryside than of robots and digital transformation.[...]
The Benefits And Dangers Of Using AI In Recruitment
Many of us don’t like the idea of putting decisions that can seriously impact people’s lives in the hands of machines.[...]
Stay up-to-date
- Get updates straight to your inbox
- Join my 1 million newsletter subscribers
- Never miss any new content
Social Media