Starbucks Rewards Is Going Strong Despite Facing Harsh Criticism From Consumers. Will Franchisors Follow?

Consumers who rely on Starbucks for their daily caffeine jolts haven’t been thrilled with the brand lately. Starbucks has been receiving backlash for changing its loyalty program to a system where customers earn two stars for every dollar spent and have to have 125 stars in order to get a free drink. But despite all the complaints and criticism, Starbucks Rewards is performing well.

Nation’s Restaurant News reports that in a call with Wall Street analysts, Starbucks said about one million customers joined the loyalty program during the fiscal second quarter. That’s an increase of eight percent to more than 12 million users. Spending through the loyalty program also increased 22 percent year over year.

“We’re not seeing any of the noise that has been speculated,” said Matthew Ryan, Starbucks’ executive vice president and global chief strategy officer.

Starbucks’ new loyalty program didn’t officially roll out until April 12, but the brand says that sales through the program are going strong. Starbucks Rewards added 280,000 members the first week it was in effect alone.

“We’re building something so enduring and so unique that I think it’s going to be one of the most significant changes to the equity of the brand and customer experience,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ chairman and CEO.