Retail Week Live: Starbucks poised to partner with Spotify in the UK

The coffee shop chain is investing heavily in new innovations, store concepts and staff as it continues to grow.

One of the ways Starbucks is looking to increase engagement with its customers is through its partnership with Spotify, which will kick off in the UK later this year following a roll-out in the US.

Speaking at Retail Week Live Kris Engskov president of Starbucks EMEA, said customers could potentially act as a “guest DJ in store” and receive discounts through cross marketing with Spotify.

“I hope this is the beginning of a series of partnerships that allow us to take the retail experience beyond the four walls,” said Engskov.

During his presentation, Engskov said Starbucks wasn’t “immune” to what was happening in digital.

“Digital and online are as relevant for us as it is for fashion and food. Customers want it now, or yesterday. We have got to find new ways to meet that format. Even in the coffee business.”

He said the company enhanced the customer experience recently by enabling customers to charge their phone by just laying their mobile on the table in some branches, launching faster wi-fi, and was exploring drive-through Starbuck branches and launching stores where customers could see how their coffee was being made.

He added that it had been “shamed” into hiring apprentices. “We had zero three years ago and we were shamed into creating an apprenticeship programme,” said Engskov.

“I couldn’t believe we didn’t have it. We’ve now got 1,500 national apprentices and we’re expanding by 1,000 over the course of the summer.”