Is Starbucks’ Exclusive NFT Loyalty Program a Brewing Disaster?

Starbucks will officially take its first steps into the Web3 space with an exclusive collection of NFTs while facing two tall orders of employee unionization drive and the apparent NFT market collapse.

Announced on Tuesday, Starbucks’ NFT plans will offer “unique experiences, community building, storytelling, and customer engagement”. Furthermore, the coffee company intends to have its stakeholders benefit from the project “while creating a new type of digital ecosystem” to go hand-in-hand with its present platform services.

The “series of branded NFT collections” will feature the ownership of community memberships and access to exclusive perks.

While the coffee giant only provided meager details about the NFT collection and how they will go about the whole project, Starbucks appears to be taking a more careful approach. The company’s Starbucks app architect will play a huge role in the project, along with a new Web3-knowledgable CEO, whom the company is still looking for.

The project will become a part of a “flatlining” market. According to a Wall Street Journal article, NFT sales have plummeted by 92% since a peak last year. In addition, the NFT market also saw an 88% dip in terms of active wallets. Data from Google Trends also shows that online interest in NFTs has dropped by 89%.

The collapsing NFT market aside, Starbucks is still met with an ongoing nationwide unionization drive organized by its baristas. Interestingly, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will bank on the virtual asset to appease their employees.

While details of how Starbucks NFTs will come into play amidst unhappy employees, a Mashable article is certain that the NFT perks will not include union benefits. Besides, with a collapsing NFT market, all the community can do is just wait for what’s to come.