Generosity is good business. Therefore, I expect Starbucks’ plan to provide free Wi-Fi in all its U.S. stores by July 1 to be very good for the coffee chain’s business.
Speaking today at WIRED’s Disruptive by Design conference today, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said his company continues to look for new ways to bridge the “third place” coffeehouse experience with the digital world.
And that’s why Schultz’s big news isn’t the free Wi-Fi offering (that’s totally expected), rather it’s the launch of Starbucks Digital Network, in partnership with Yahoo, which will debut later this fall. This new partnership will allow Starbucks’ customers free unrestricted access to various paid sites and services such as WSJ.com.
Other launch content providers will include iTunes, The New York Times, Patch, USA TODAY and ZAGAT.