Wal-Mart, Starbucks and the iPod Opportunity

In October of last year, I mentioned Starbucks' new in-store offering that allows you to make your own custom music CDs. My question was, "What about iPod?" A recent visit to Starbucks' "Hear Music" prototype elicited the same question from trend spotting group blog PSFK. A lot of research, planning and preparation go into store plans—iPods may not have been de rigueur when "Hear Music" was developed.

When Wal-Mart announced this week that it is offering the same service for its online customers, I exclaimed aloud, WHAT ABOUT iPOD?! The in-store issues are eliminated—perhaps they are testing the waters before bringing it in-store?

As I rushed to post, it hit me. Perhaps it is the licensing agreement. Getting Apple and Starbucks/Wal-Mart on the same page would be a deft brand maneuver. But would each company benefit from the relationship? I think it is win-win for Apple and Starbucks, but Wal-Mart is a trickier combination.

Regardless, the above are just some of the questions to consider before we ding either company for not tapping into the iPod opportunity.