Expanded Starbucks Rewards as a Snapshot into the Future of Money and Spending

In 2012 the National Institutes of Health released results of a study that says that coffee can actually be good for you by lowering your risk of death in a variety of ways. Lots of coffee too, like 6-8 cups per day, or something like that. OK, that may be stretching things but a significant amount daily may be attributed to reducing the likelihood of dying from certain diseases and health conditions, including injuries and accidents which is intriguing in just those two areas alone.

This was of course good news to hear for coffee retailers and being a really big, popular coffee retailer like Starbucks you would have been pleased with the report. That's because the combination of the results of the NIH study and Starbucks' very recent rollout of pay-ahead services along with an expanded customer rewards program, called "coffee currency", can help drive more customer traffic. Customers can now earn rewards points through new loyalty program partnerships with the New York Times, Lyft, and Spotify. Get smarter, get around easier, and possibly improve your health. Listen to your favorite tunes while doing it all too. This isn't to say that Starbucks can stake a place in health care just yet, but then again they aren't shy in expanding into new areas.