SEATTLE - Now, picking up a bag of Starbucks coffee beans at your neighborhood grocery store will earn you points on your Starbucks Rewards card, USA Today reports. Starting in May, the coffeehouse chain is adding purchases of certain Starbucks whole bean or ground packaged coffee from supermarkets, club stores or drug stores to its loyalty points program.

Within six months, the chain anticipates enlarging the program to include other Starbucks products. In April, customers will earn Starbucks Rewards at Teavana tea stores, too. To earn loyalty points for their grocery store purchases, customers have to go online and enter a special code printed on the coffee bag.

"Over the past two years, we've been witness to a seismic change in consumer behavior due to technology," said Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO. "As a result of that, we've been able to do things almost no other consumer brand has done before."

The chain began its My Starbucks Rewards program three years ago, and currently has 6 million members, with around 80,000 new signups each week, according to Adam Brotman, chief digital officer at Starbucks.

Brand consultant Kate Newlin sees the change as one more way Starbucks is trying to keep customers loyal "even when they??re not at Starbucks."