You’re reading AI at the Top - Our Sunday series, where we share how leading companies and their executives use AI in business.
As business leaders, what do we already know about Starbucks?
Fortune 500 company with 346,000 employees. Valued at $98.23 billion based on market cap. Owns 40,729 stores globally as of Q2 2025. Probably a coffee shop you wouldn’t mind spending a day sipping coffee, working, and taking meetings.
That’s the Starbucks we’ve seen over the years. Might have even endlessly heard “Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee. It sells experience” from our marketing peers.
But…
In today’s AI at the Top, we will look into the backend of Starbucks.
We will understand how the company uses AI across consumer experience, supply chain, employee productivity, and more.
Data as a MOAT
As we study enterprises, we’re learning this fact about successful AI transformations in leading non-tech companies: Data is the moat.
It means the earlier you get access to your customers’ first-party data and the faster you make your data AI-ready (might be on public clouds or on-prem), the more efficient your systems and processes will get.
We have already noticed this pattern in enterprises like Walmart, JPMorgan Chase, PepsiCo, Nike, etc.
Starbucks aced its first-party data with its mobile app.
In 2011, Starbucks launched its mobile app with a rewards program. Every time you order via app, you get stars to redeem on your next purchase.
This simple DTC tactic drove customer engagement on the app, unlocking insights into ordering patterns.
The company knew what menus their customers preferred, popular locations, favourite beverages at what times, etc.
By 2023, a quarter of its 100 million transactions were through the app.
…and by the end of Q1 2024, the app had 34.3 million active members in the US alone.