Starbucks Reserve Roastery Subscription

Starbucks Roastery customers subscribe themselves or another person for a monthly roast delivered to their door.


Challenge

Starbucks knew it wanted to provide a subscription service, but was wrestling with the best way to integrate it into their existing ecommerce platform, which was designed for products, not ongoing services.

Hypothesis

The most valuable experience for users would not feel like simply adding a “product” to a cart, but a sequential sign-up for an ongoing service.

Methodology

Stakeholder interviews to lock in business goals.

User flows for various paths through the experience.

Iterative meetings with Engineering team to vet goals and arrive at roadmap and budget.

Solution

By creating a design that essentially turned product customization functionality inside out, the subscription service was able to use existing backend and maintain stability, but also feel like a unique, seamless flow.