Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Starbucks Corp.’s (NASDAQ: SBUX) loyalty rewards program had $1.2 billion loaded on 12 million customers’ cards and mobile apps, more than many banks have on deposit. The Starbucks loyalty program is, by any measure, a huge success, and the company’s latest high-tech innovation, a Starbucks for Outlook add-in, could be the next big thing.

The company released its add-in program for Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Outlook mail program on Thursday for U.S. customers. The add-in is free and available for download from Microsoft’s Office Store and works with a number of versions of Outlook, including Outlook.com. The add-in is not yet available in Outlook for Mac or Outlook Mobile.

Once the add-in is downloaded and installed, a “Meet at Starbucks” button appears in the Outlook ribbon and by clicking on the button a user creates an email that includes a request to meet at a Starbucks store, along with a link that gives the email’s recipients directions to the store and a link that allows them to order ahead.

The add-in also allows users to send a Starbucks gift card paid for through your Starbucks account. Don’t have one? Sign up now!

Whether this add-in is a success remains to be seen, but it is both reasonably easy to implement and measurable. If it doesn’t drive more customers to the store, well, it was worth a try. If it does, chances are good that new customers will sign up for the loyalty program, get the add-in themselves and deposit more money in the Starbucks Bank.

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