Tomer Molovinsky breaks down seven tactics independent coffee shops can use to boost fall sales. Run 24-48 hour limited promotions, gamify loyalty with three-day streaks, and upsell combos to raise average ticket by 15-20%. Track everything with Square analytics to see what works.
Questions this video answers
24–48 hours (short limited-time promotions).
Three-day streaks ("come three days in a row").
Example drink price $8 and a reward of 20 extra points after the third visit.
From 4:00 to 6:00 (4–6pm) as a targeted slower-time double-points window.
About 15–20% increase in average order size.
Chapters
Why do people go to Starbucks more than any other coffee shop? You and I both know it's not because of their coffee. It's because Starbucks has learned to take every season and make it into a huge growth opportunity. Let's take the pumpkin spice latte. It's not just a drink, it's an entire strategy. So Starbucks uses these limited time flavors to spark emotion, to drive urgency, and to drive repeat visits. So it's not just about what's on your menu, but it's how you use that menu to grow. So let's jump into Starbucks playbook and see how you can apply those same lessons at your coffee shop.
First part of the playbook is to.
Run limited time promotions. So think 24, 48 hours versus like, you know, month long promotions. And so the reason you want, obviously that's going to drive a lot more urgency. People want something new that's fresh and they want to catch it before it's gone. Right? So you can think of something like, you know, cinnamon cold brew weekend, two days of Matcha Madness, whatever it is, that's really going to drive that kind of, you know, spark. And then if you use per diem, you can announce it with a push notification, put up banners with images that are linking to that item to really drive those sales. But, but either way, this should drive increased foot traffic if you're getting it out there, not just in your app, but on social and email as well.
So the second part of the playbook.
Is to turn fall drinks into a loyalty magnet. So these days most coffee shops, they have, you know, fall drinks. So how are you going to differentiate yourself? Well, one way to do this is if you have per diem, you can kind of gamify the whole experience. So we mentioned sending out push notifications, putting up banners, but then if you also on top of that, include, let's say, our streaks feature. So this is like a little gamification thing. You know, come three days in a row, get our, you know, it's part of the Matcha madness or whatever it is. And then once people start that streak, they really want to complete it. That's just human psychology. And again, this is something that you can just turn on for a given time. Hey, our new Matcha drink is here for the fall. Come we have three day streaks. Come three days in a row, spend whatever the amount of the matcha drink is, $8 and you get to win. After your third time, you get to win, you know, 20 extra points. This really helps to make it fun, engaging, and then you create this memorable experience and you really do turn it into a loyalty magnet.
The third part of the Playbook are.
To set up double points at certain slower times of day. So this is really easy to do within square, you can select either the item or the category, and then you select what day a week this is a recurring promotion. Or you can even set an end date on it. So let's say you just want it to run through the fall and promoting your matcha drinks, you can easily do that. And the good news is that's all going to be enacted within your app that's on per diem. So everything you set up in square goes to the app. People get those double points when they purchase from 4 to 6 through the app, and then you can use the app to really blast that message out there. This is a great promotion because people get their endorphins that they typically get from a promotion, but they're not hurting your margins the same way that straight discounting does.
The fourth part of the Playbook is.
To sell convenience as the product. So fall is one of your most profitable times, but it's also a really busy time for your customers. The kids are back in school, you know, they got to go to soccer practice, all these things that weren't happening over the summer. And so you can really market the app in this way because it is going to save people time. They can order ahead, they can skip the line. A lot of our apps have curbside pickup or they offer delivery. So these are additional conveniences. So you really want to think the same way that Amex is promoting all these lounges and whatever. That's essentially what you're giving people. You're giving people convenience and something that's something that they really will cherish. So you want to put this on your socials, put this on your website, and ultimately this is going to help to build repeat visits and a lot of loyalty to your store.
The fifth part of the Playbook is.
To use smart upsells in order to increase average ticket size. So, you know, we make this really easy for you. In per diem, you can simply upsell certain features. Then on the checkout screen, they're going to see those. You can. Then in the fall, you can rotate new items. So let's say you have this, you know, pumpkin flavored scone, or maybe there's a cinnamon bun that you really want to match with your new drink lineup. You can also do this in square, setting up modifiers and then kind of doing upsells on the product itself. And then the nice thing there is that you can maybe add a modifier at a little bit of a discount and then you can kind of like combo it up so people get a little bit of a deal. But even these little tweaks, you know, they can increase your average order size about 15 to 20%. And, you know, they're not pushy because they're just kind of a part of the natural ordering flow.
Six Part of the playbook is to.
Make yourself amenable to a cozy fall atmosphere. So as the hours get shorter, the days get shorter, it gets colder outside, people look for a place to gather around. It's been this way for, you know, thousands of years. So really you could be that spot use, you know, warmer lighting, maybe you adjust the music a little bit to put people in that really Instagram ready mode. Because ultimately what you want is for people to stay longer, to share their experiences, to invite their friends. And so this is a great way to do that. You can, on top of that, have table tents and other marketing promotional vehicles to drive additional orders. If people are staying longer, that should mean they're going to be ordering an extra pastry or an extra drink from you.
The seventh part of the Playbook is.
To measure and adjust accordingly. So this is really what separates the great operators. A lot of what you do is based on instinct and your gut reaction to things, and that's the right thing to do. But once you have the data, you should be looking at it, you should be analyzing it, you should be seeing what drinks sell the best, what days a week are working the best, and what strategies are working. And then, you know, later on, hey, these are the things I should double down on. These are the promotions that really worked. These are the days that I'm already busy, so maybe I need to focus on these days to really drive those promotions. At the end of the day, this data is going to help you. Now, with these different chatbots, both in square and per diem, it's really easy to drill down on these categories and just have the AI relay what's important. And then you can just, you know, continue the strategies that worked and, and then the ones that didn't, like, get rid of them. That's all we got for today. So to recap, fall, you're gonna see business go up a little bit. You know, the kids are back in school, everyone's back from the beach. The important thing now is how you can capitalize on that, on that new traffic. And so as we talked about, you can leverage daily streaks to really hook them, short promotions to drive that urgency. And then, you know, test things, understand what's driving, what's working, and then adjust accordingly along the way. And then before you know it, you're gonna have your best fall season ever. Good luck.
