In the annual meeting today, Starbucks chief Howard Schultz vowed to “fight to the death” against Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, and other competitors for coffee-and-baked good supremacy. While we’ve already seen many of the weapons he plans to use in this battle — better-smelling stores, for instance (without warmed breakfast sandwiches, with fresh-brewed coffee), a reduction in the number of stores too near one another, and a campaign to increase the quality of the baristas — today marked the introduction of several yet newer and even more desperate ones.

Chief among today’s weapons is the loyalty card. Starting in about a month, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) will introduce a number of discounts for customers who use their Starbucks card to pay, and register it on the web site. (Excuse me while I run to my junk drawer to unearth my card that has $0.16 left on it.) Free “customization” is one perk — extra syrups and milk substitutions will be gratis. Another perk is free refills on brewed coffee, and the possible expansion of the $1.00 coffee test. Schultz didn’t mention whether or not the company would be offering free drinks upon the purchase of 10, or 15; though this is a perk already in place at licensees in Safeway stores (the data comes from the Safeway Rewards card) and, of course, at just about every single independent coffee shop in the nation.

Continue reading Starbucks’ Howard Schultz will ‘fight to the death’ for coffee dominance

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