Why The Starbucks Red Cup Day Was 'Shockingly Effective'

Coffee giant Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) hosted its "Red Cup Day" on Nov. 6, and data analytics company Placer.ai said the promotion of giving a free, collectable holiday-themed cup is "shockingly effective" at driving traffic. 

'Massive' Impact For Starbucks: Starbucks experienced a "massive" boost in foot traffic during its "Red Cup Day," as visits were 86.9% above the daily baseline from November 2019 through Nov. 8, 2020, Placer.ai said in a yet-to-be published report.

Starbucks' recent event ranks as the chain's third-most trafficked day, behind Black Friday 2019 and Dec. 26, 2019, Placer.AI said.

What's particularly impressive is that Starbucks generated such a "degree of urgency" among customers to visit stores so they can collect their free cup, the firm said — despite surging COVID-19 cases across the U.S.

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State-By-State Impact: California is home to the largest number of Starbucks stores, so what occurs in the Golden State has an outsized impact.

Encouragingly, Starbucks stores in California experienced a 19.8% week-over-week increase in visits from Nov. 1 to Nov. 8.

New York, the fourth-largest state in terms of locations, outperformed the national average with a 23.3% traffic lift.

"If Red Cups can prove capable of not just producing an insane one-day spike, but actually boosting the pace of the recovery in key states, the impact would be enormous," Placer.ai said.

Photo courtesy of Starbucks.