If you’re a coffee drinker, look at the most-used apps on your phone and then check out the market. Long before the pandemic struck, Starbucks focused on developing a digital-forward, highly personalized customer experience. They recognized early on the tangible value of engaged customers: Starbucks Rewards members spend, on average, $88 a quarter – nearly three times as much as non-members (who spent $30).

And, during the pandemic, they’ve doubled down on this strategy – adding 1.8 million Rewards members in 2020. So how has this focus on digital engagement impacted their business? Starbucks stock has increased over 15% since 2019 (despite the devastation of COVID-19) and they just announced plans to open 22,000 new locations (focusing on digitally-native convenience formats) by 2030.