Starbucks Announces Move into NFT space to enhance Customer and Employee Experiences

The Coffee giant Starbucks has announced that it will enter the NFT space this year as interim CEO Howard Schultz addressed the need to reshape the experience for customers and employees.

According to a statement released by Starbucks, the company is working on “digital innovation through NFTs.” Although the announcement is unclear, details are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

“Sometime before the end of this calendar year, we are going to be in the NFT business,” Schultz said at the company’s Open Forum held Monday. A video clip of his remarks about NFTs was shared online by Jordan Zakarin, a reporter and producer for More Perfect Union, a progressive non-profit news media organization.

“If you look at the companies, the brands, the celebrities, the influencers, that are trying to create a digital NFT platform and business, I can’t find one of them that has the treasure trove of assets that Starbucks has – from collectibles to entire heritage of the company,” he said.

Schultz’s NFT statements come as part of a wider address to workers days after the company’s announcement to reinstate him as interim CEO. Last Monday, Schultz returned to his post after Kevin Johnson ended his five-year term.

Schultz returns as the company is preparing to bounce back after the heavy losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a mass shutdown of physical stores worldwide. Following his reinstatement, he has suspended Strabucks’ planned share buyback program. According to Schultz, the suspension will allow Starbucks to invest more in its “people and out stores” to create long-term value for shareholders.

“We have to reimagine, most importantly, the experience for our partners,” Schultz said at the forum. “It’s not just wage — it’s the environment in the store, it’s the joy, it’s the sense of community, it’s fulfillment and most importantly, it’s them feeling as if we’ve answered the question in the affirmative, ‘What’s in it for you?'”

“All those stores that we have that have big lobbies, they may not be as relevant tomorrow as they have been in the past,” Schultz added. “We have to redefine, redesign our store experience.”

Source: CryptoNews