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Feeling the pinch of the economy and encroaching low-cost providers such as McDonalds, Starbucks may start a loyalty program to bolster U.S. sales.
CEO Howard Schultz, the brand builder who recently returned from a seven-year break, may introduce the plan at a shareholders meeting today. It’s expected that the loyalty program will include free coffee offers and/or discounts to customers using prepaid Starbucks cards. The company may also offer food/drink combos, reported Bloomberg. The discount plan for its truest customers would dovetail with Starbucks’ plan to boost sales at existing 16,000 shops while opening fewer new cafes.
Accepting that $4 coffee drinks are a losable luxury in current slow times, Starbucks is considering several new initiatives, including focusing on drip coffee, a cheaper pour than its fancier latte compatriots. Last month, the company took the bold step of closing all its U.S. locations during business hours to train baristas, a move which confused some consumers and gave Dunkin’ Donuts an opening to tout $0.99 lattes.
Starbucks, which will need to tread lightly to avoid tarnishing its premium brand status, saw its first-quarter sales growth slow 17 percent, the smallest gain in two years.
In commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington and the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, Clear Channel has 38 local stations nationwide collaborating on a radiothon on Thursday, Aug. 28.
The radiothon, in conjunction with the Washington,…
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Of the magazine, editor Joe Treen, former editor at People and…
Google and Verizon Wireless are reportedly on the verge of a deal that will make Google the official search engine for all Verizon-powered cell phones.
The deal gives Google and its advertisers 68 million wireless customers who would see Google…
The broadcast nets will finish the summer up from last year in terms of ratings, with the Big Four up a total of 17 percent in total viewers, and up 10 percent in 18-49s, mostly thanks to NBC’s airing of…
The Onion has launched a local site that will provide event listings and restaurant information for Chicago - in essence, a competitor to CitySearch.
More cities will be unveiled in coming months, writes TechCrunch.
The site, Decider, is a “straight” site, without…
The paper catalog is still the largest revenue generator - nearly 50% of sales in both 2007 and 2008 - among all channels used by companies that sell goods to consumers and businesses from a remote location, though web sales…
