Shutterstock/Savvapanf Photo Starbucks is giving away free coffee.
- Starbucks is giving away free espresso drinks on Friday.
- Customers who are not Rewards Members need to sign up online to redeem the free code. The deal is valid from 3 p.m. to close on Friday.
- The so-called Happy Hour deal encourages customers who are not Rewards Members to sign up for promotions. This gives Starbucks a new set of customers to market to.
Starbucks is giving away free espresso drinks on Friday.
To be eligible, customers who are not Rewards Members need to sign up online to redeem the free code. Anyone who purchases a grande or larger espresso beverage will be given an extra one for free. The deal is valid from 3 p.m. to close on Friday and includes both hot and cold espresso drinks.
This promotion is part of the Happy Hour deal that Starbucks has historically run on Frappuccinos during the summer. After saying it would abandon the promotion in January due to slumping Frappuccino sales, it was relaunched in March.
The aim is to capture customers outside of the chain's Rewards program.
"This evolution in Starbucks Happy Hour promotion is part of the company's ongoing strategy to strengthen digitally enabled customer relationships beyond its Starbucks Rewards loyalty program - which currently has nearly 15 million active users - creating a more seamless and relevant experience for all customers both in and outside of Starbucks stores," the company said in a statement in March.
While the Starbucks Rewards program has been one of the most successful areas of the business - most of its same-store sales growth has come from these customers ordering via mobile, and it now represents 37% of the company's overall sales - the company is looking to draw in customers outside this program to grow.
"We have got 75 million people coming up through our doors each month, 15 million in the rewards program," Starbucks CFO Scott Maw said at a JPMorgan forum in March.
"What about the other 60 million?" Maw continued. "We know you will convert a million or two every year into Starbucks Rewards, but what can you do beyond that?"
Maw said that people may avoid signing up for the Rewards program because they are either unaware of the benefits or don't want to preload money into their account.
While the program encourages loyalty, having more customers ordering on mobile benefits Starbucks. More people downloading the app means that Starbucks can personalize ads to a new set of customers, which Maw believes is crucial for the business.