Starbucks partners with Apple, Yahoo to offer in-store digital content

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Starbucks is partnering with Apple and Yahoo to roll out an in-store digital network Wednesday that will offer customers exclusive free e-books, movies and music in hopes of drawing customers to its stores.



The new content initiative isn't just a push by Starbucks to counter competition from other chains such as McDonald's that have begun encroaching on the coffee giant's territory, the Associated Press reports. It could also serve as a new revenue stream for the company as customers sample and purchase content while online at the company's coffee shops.



Starbucks began offering free Wi-Fi internet access at its locations in July, receiving 30 million log-ins in September. In its partnership with Yahoo, the Seattle, Wash.-based company will launch a portal for users who sign on at a Starbucks store. A welcome page will connect customers with related content, including free books, news, music and movies. Most of the free content will only be available while at the Starbucks location, the report notes, and Starbucks will receive an unspecified cut of any sales made through the network.



The service is designed to be "bite-sized," with small doses of content meant to be consumed in just a few minutes. In order to create the model, Starbucks and Yahoo first observed customers' habits.



"Users across the Internet are moving more into this 'snackable behavior' to begin with," said Burke Culligan, vice president of product management at Yahoo.



Customers will now be able to download the Starbucks free song of the week directly from iTunes while online at the store, instead of having to pick up cards with song codes, the report notes. Apple and Starbucks had previously been sued over the use of the custom music gift cards.



Apple and Starbucks have worked together in a music partnership for several years now, partnering on an iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store for Starbucks customers. In the past, Starbucks has

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Next, iPad sales at Starbucks? 17000 stores in 49 countries
  • Reply 2 of 18
    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.
  • Reply 3 of 18
    emacs72emacs72 Posts: 356member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ejkrane View Post


    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.



    they do as evidenced by the millions of repeat customers they serve every month worldwide. anyways, this partnership seems quite promising.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emacs72 View Post


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ejkrane View Post


    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.



    They do as evidenced by the millions of repeat customers they serve every month worldwide. Anyways, this partnership seems quite promising.



    You have to be kidding? Starbucks coffee is so crap it's a stretch to call it coffee.



    I don't mind their Frappuccinos though.
  • Reply 5 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ejkrane View Post


    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.



    I like Dunkin' Donuts coffee better.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    boeyc15boeyc15 Posts: 986member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Blackintosh View Post


    I like Dunkin' Donuts coffee better.



    Wasn't McD's coffee rated best by Consu... ooops not suppose to mention them on Apple fan sights.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ejkrane View Post


    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.



    Bingo.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boeyc15 View Post


    Wasn't McD's coffee rated best by Consu... ooops not suppose to mention them on Apple fan sights.



    Yeah, the Dutch, Germans, French, Italians, etc. can't wait to get over to a MacDonald's to get our daily coffee! (sorry, we don't have the dubious pleasure of having any "Dunkin' Donuts" over here, so I can't make a comparison -- just independent mom & pop bakeries that have been around for generations).



    No, we go to said bakeries or little coffee shops where a barrista will pull us a real cup of coffee by hand from a real coffee machine. Filter coffee can't really distinguish itself. Some of these fast food places might get good ratings simply because they get the pot off the hot plate quickly and serve it before the coffee burns.



    So, not to be a snob or anything (which I have to say since that is exactly what I am being ), but to put it all in perspective I wouldn't put a lot of stock in ratings made by mass American consumerism, especially when it comes to coffee. Of course, when it comes to product satisfaction for Apple products, that's another kettle of fish entirely! To paraphrase Steve, "MacDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts just don't have taste." If we drink too much coffee where a lot of care has not gone into making it, then we can get generally desensitized to a good cup of coffee, I think.



    Even with lots of practice on my espresso machine, I still don't get a perfect cup every time -- quality of the beans, freshness of the beans, grind of the beans, amount of grind in the basket, density of the coffee in the basket, temperature, pressure, length of shot. Lots of variables. A well made cup of coffee makes it worth drinking, though. This goes for coffee anywhere, Starbucks included. I do find, though, that the beans I can buy at Starbucks can make a pretty nice cup of coffee.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by quinney View Post


    Next, iPad sales at Starbucks? 17000 stores in 49 countries



    Not such a bad idea! This and airport type venues for iPad sales strike me as plausible however Apple need to have iTunes in the cloud (to remove dependency on having to own a traditional computer as a host machine) and also have an activation system that can occur via wifi for users who are new to Apple.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Firefly7475 View Post


    You have to be kidding? Starbucks coffee is so crap it's a stretch to call it coffee.



    I don't mind their Frappuccinos though.



    mmmmmmmmm Frappuccinos!
  • Reply 11 of 18
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Just tested this service out while drinking my venti caffe mocha no whip. Impressive… no, wait, the other thing… unimpressive.



    This should be the site that comes up: http://starbucks.yahoo.com/



    It looks more like ads than actual content to keep you entertained while in and around the store.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boeyc15 View Post


    Wasn't McD's coffee rated best by Consu... ooops not suppose to mention them on Apple fan sights.







    I do so love McD’s iced coffee.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post


    Peet's rules. Starbucks drools.



    I am not a fan of Peet’s in comparison to Starbucks. And that’s just from a coffee PoV. I find Starbucks to be much better run and organized in general. Plus, they have pretty decent WiFi for a public hotpot with many users.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    oh God no not Starbucks!!
  • Reply 13 of 18
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ejkrane View Post


    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.



    right you are. if apple is to partner with any large chain, they should have gone with peets.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emacs72 View Post


    they do as evidenced by the millions of repeat customers they serve every month worldwide. anyways, this partnership seems quite promising.



    Quantity of customers means nothing. Ever heard of marketing? Starbucks is the Windows of coffee.



    Coffee aficionados know that Starbucks is shiet. We aren't talking about their sweet dessert drinks. We're strictly speaking about their coffee.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    Quantity of customers means nothing. Ever heard of marketing? Starbucks is the Windows of coffee.



    Starbucks sells their coffee to other coffee shops that have to keep reducing the quality of their cups while also placing advertisement stickers all over the cup, jacking up the price of their other accessory products, and selling the internal coffee space to vendors that want to have annoying "pop ups” while you try to drink it? That would suck!
  • Reply 16 of 18
    emacs72emacs72 Posts: 356member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    Quantity of customers means nothing ...



    for you, quantity of customers means nothing. for Apple, quantity of customers is quite meaningful hence the partnership with Starbucks and Yahoo.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    It's friggin' coffee! Burnt bean soup!!
  • Reply 18 of 18
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ejkrane View Post


    They should try drawing people in by selling decent coffee.



    is that why the line at manhattan starbucks' locations is 30 minutes long between 8am and 9:30am?
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