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

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, covering any medium drink within 40 yuan. The benefit is available nationwide, except at select airport, station and scenic area locations, with unlimited usage.

Being able to enjoy any 40-yuan category medium drink for just 25 yuan raises the question: is Starbucks quietly entering the low-price coffee war, at least compared with its original prices?

Historical Promotional Activities

Such promotions are nothing new. According to research, Starbucks has been gradually introducing annual benefit cards with varying degrees of discount on major lifestyle service platforms since last year, 2021.

There has been 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 for 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 for a fixed price of 25.9 yuan plus 20% off, starting from, on online orders, among others.

Basically, as soon as one platform's campaign ends, the next one begins. From these promotional collaborations, it is clear that Starbucks is not unwilling to join the low-price coffee war. It is simply doing so quietly, without fanfare, in a way that rewards whoever spots the deal and grabs it quickly.

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

You might wonder why, instead of simply lowering prices to attract more consumers, the brand issues coupons through so many channels.

Because direct price cuts cannot sustain people's desire to consume over a long period, while issuing coupons and running other promotions produces a different effect.

Most directly, the various large and small lifestyle service platforms let Starbucks reach consumers from different domains. Compared with the original prices of many beverages, these discounts are indeed significantly cheaper. The live broadcast process is also both promotional and interactive, capable of generating additional consumption from people who had no intention of drinking Starbucks until a single broadcast caught their eye.

These activities are largely groundwork for expansion into lower-tier markets, hoping to attract more consumers there through obvious, contrasting promotional campaigns.

Impact on Brand Image and Market Position

At the same time, such promotions do not harm Starbucks' own brand image. They also let more consumers feel that Starbucks, once known by word of mouth as high-end and available only 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 it has lost its appeal.

Still, Starbucks remains the first step into coffee for many consumers, and plenty of them continue to enjoy the style the brand brings and the social space it provides.

Starbucks' Competitive Advantage in the Market

In recent years there have been more and more domestic chain coffee brands with significant advantages in price and store locations. Most of them, however, focus primarily on delivery, and very few offer a comfortable place to sit.

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

Image Source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

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