How a Local Coffee Roaster Used a Punch Card to Beat Starbucks

Small Business Success with Fexingo: Local Companies, Main Street Stories, and Community Commerce · Jun 12, 2026 · 10m · transcript

Lucas and Luna dive into the story of a small coffee roaster in Portland that revived the humble punch card loyalty program — and turned it into a data engine. Owner Maria Chen explains how a simple 10-punch card, combined with a customer database and SMS reminders, drove a 40 percent increase in repeat visits over six months, while Starbucks loyalty program enrollment declined. The episode explores why analog loyalty tools can outperform digital apps for small retailers, the psychology of the 'endowed progress effect,' and how a tiny investment in paper cards and a spreadsheet can…