Starbucks built its own app and loyalty program before delivery apps existed, controlling customer data and margins. Independent cafés that start with marketplace delivery lose that data and pricing power. Per Diem helps cafés launch their own ordering system in 24 hours to own their customers instead.
So going back to the early days, Starbucks, they really started this whole app game. But they didn't just build an app to have an app. They built so customers could order directly from them. And that's a lesson we should take from this. Before delivery apps, before anything else, they made first party ordering the default. That's their app, their payments, their loyalty. That wasn't about being fancy. It was about owning the customer relationship. So once people started ordering directly from Starbucks, everything else became optional. And that's what independent cafes and restaurants should copy from them. So in essence, what Starbucks did is they conquered first party ordering. Before they went everywhere, they didn't, you know, outsource demand. They owned identity, payment and loyalty. Really, from day one. Every order strengthened that relationship. So first party ordering, it's not just about saving money from the delivery apps, it's about leverage. If you don't own demand, someone else does. So there's a reason that Starbucks added delivery apps to their ordering stack last, the app drove frequency, web expanded reach, and delivery apps came later, as everything was already tapped out and they wanted incremental growth. By then, Starbucks already controlled the customer. Delivery apps weren't the business. It was a layer. On top of that, sequencing should be your playbook. So what we've seen at Per Diem is when cafes start on delivery apps, they skip the most important part of the customer relationship. They skip ownership. No direct relationship, no usable customer data, no ways to build habits outside of the actual marketplace. You might grow volume, but you're not growing equity. Growth without ownership is really fragile. So why is this? Well, what happens is the delivery apps capture your best customers first. Your earliest fans are your most valuable customers over time. But when they order through a marketplace, the platform gets them, not you. You can't remarket. You can't reward loyalty directly. You're renting the people who should have been yours to begin with. That's really hard to undo. And so this is why cafes quietly raise prices after launching on delivery apps. The fees force menu inflation. Online pricing drifts from in store pricing. Customers feel it, even if they can't really explain it. The platform stays neutral, but your brand ends up taking a hit. And given that you're paying 20 to 30%, that's just not a fair trade. So to wrap this all up, Starbucks didn't just build an app, they built a first party ordering ecosystem. Their own app, their own web ordering, their own loyalty. When you order from Starbucks, you're ordering from Starbucks, not a marketplace. They own the relationship, they own the data they own and they keep the margin. So that's the same approach we take at Per Diem. We help independent cafes do this by launching their own app, their own web ordering, even catering and delivery. So you actually own your customers from day one. Because the tech's already built in, we can get you live in as little as 24 hours, literally. Start by owning first party ordering and everything else works better after that. Thanks a lot.
