Why The Starbucks Red Cup Day Was 'Shockingly Effective'

Coffee giant Starbucks Corporation 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.