There are a million loyalty schemes. Most of them fail.
They offer points, stars, tiers, perks – and people still forget to use them. Why? Because they feel like work.
Starbucks cracked the code by designing their app not just to reward behaviour, but to create it.
You didn’t just earn progress – you felt like you’d already made some.
That’s the endowed progress effect. And it made every coffee a commitment device.
The Behavioural Problem: Rewards That Don’t Motivate
Most loyalty programmes suffer from:
- Delayed gratification;
- No clear end goal;
- Boring reward mechanics;
- No sense of momentum.
It’s hard to stay engaged when your tenth visit feels as far away as your first.
The Intervention: Gamify, Progress, and Pre-Load the Win
Starbucks redesigned their app with a simple but powerful mechanic:
- You don’t start from zero. You start with stars already earned.
- Every transaction triggers progress bars, animations, and visual feedback.
- New offers are framed as challenges: “Buy 3 iced drinks this week, get 50 bonus stars.”
The psychology at play:
- Endowed progress effect: When you feel like you’ve already started, you’re more likely to finish.
- Goal gradient effect: The closer you are to a reward, the faster you move toward it.
- Variable rewards: Not every transaction gives the same result – which keeps you engaged.
- Gamification loops: Trigger → action → variable reward → anticipation → repeat.
The Result: Loyalty You Don’t Think About
Starbucks didn’t just increase repeat purchases. They turned habitual buying into a self-reinforcing loop:
- More app engagement;
- Higher spend per visit;
- Greater tolerance for premium pricing;
- Emotional attachment to progress.
It stopped being “a coffee” and became “a step toward something.”
The Takeaway for Business
You don’t need points. You need momentum.
Ask yourself:
- Are you rewarding the start or the finish?
- Do users feel like they’re making progress?
- Is your loyalty programme passive – or behaviourally active?
People don’t want rewards. They want to feel like they’re already on the way.
Design that – and they’ll come back tomorrow.
