Starbucks Launches 12.8 Yuan Annual Membership Discount! How Much Does Starbucks Coffee Cost?

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Starbucks' New Annual Membership Card

Recently, Starbucks launched an annual membership card on a lifestyle service platform. For only 12.8 yuan, you can enjoy year-round discounts on medium-sized beverages at 25 yuan each (any medium drink within 40 yuan). This benefit is available nationwide, except for select airport/station/scenic area locations, with unlimited usage!?

Being able to enjoy all 40-yuan category medium drinks for just 25 yuan, is Starbucks quietly entering the low-price coffee war? (Compared to the original price)

Historical Promotional Activities

Actually, such promotions are not recent developments. According to research, Starbucks has been gradually introducing annual benefit cards with varying degrees of discounts on major lifestyle service platforms since last year, 2021.

There's a 9.9 yuan card opening fee to enjoy year-round 20% off (starting from) on medium beverages; a 9.9 yuan card opening fee to enjoy a fixed price of 25.9 yuan for medium drinks throughout the year; a 9.9 yuan card opening fee for a minimum 30% discount on all Starbucks beverages year-round; and a 9.9 yuan card opening fee to enjoy a fixed price of 25.9 yuan plus 20% off (starting from) on online orders, and so on...

Basically, as soon as one platform's campaign ends, they launch on the next platform. From these promotional collaborations, we can see that Starbucks is not unwilling to join the low-price coffee war, but rather quietly, without fanfare, joining in a way where "if you see it and grab it quickly, you're getting a good deal"...

Besides these limited annual benefit cards, Starbucks has also quietly begun issuing various product coupons during live broadcasts on these platforms.

Coupon Strategy vs. Direct Price Reductions

Regarding this approach, are you wondering why they don't just directly lower prices to attract more consumers, but instead issue coupons through various channels?

Because direct price reductions cannot sustainably stimulate people's desire to consume for extended periods, but issuing coupons/other promotional methods produces a different effect.

Most directly, through various large and small lifestyle service platforms, they attract consumers from different domains. After all, compared to the original prices of many beverages, such discounts are indeed significantly cheaper. Additionally, the process of live broadcasts on platforms is both promotional and interactive, capable of generating additional consumption from people who originally had no intention of drinking Starbucks due to a single broadcast.

These promotional activities are more about laying the groundwork for expansion into lower-tier markets, hoping to attract more consumers from these markets through obvious, contrasting promotional campaigns.

Impact on Brand Image and Market Position

At the same time, such promotions not only won't affect Starbucks' own brand image but also allow more consumers to feel that Starbucks, once known through word-of-mouth as high-end and only available in cities, has become more approachable.

Looking back now, although Starbucks faces the dilemma of balancing price and expansion in the Chinese market, for some consumers, Starbucks has lost its appeal.

However, Starbucks remains the first step for many consumers to discover coffee, and there are still many consumers who enjoy the style brought by the brand and the social space provided by Starbucks.

Starbucks' Competitive Advantage in the Market

Although in recent years, there have been more and more domestic chain coffee brands with significant advantages in price and store locations. However, most of them focus primarily on delivery, with very few shops that can provide comfortable resting spaces.

Although Starbucks' prices are still relatively high, the provision of social and leisure spaces is something every store insists on. For lower-tier markets, the demand for social venues far exceeds the taste and functionality of the product itself.

Image Source: Internet

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