Business Day

Starbucks mixes app in the brew

- LESLIE PATTON Chicago

STARBUCKS’ mobile-ordering service, which lets customers select coffees and danishes on their phones before walking into a store, is now available nationwide.

STARBUCKS’ mobile-ordering service, which lets customers select coffees and danishes on their phones before walking into a store, is now available nationwide.

The technology was switched on at Starbucks’ 7,400 companyown­ed cafes in the US after tests in select areas, the Seattle-based company said yesterday. The service, which works with Apple or Android smartphone­s, will debut at some locations in the UK and Canada next month.

“This is really meeting our customers’ needs for convenienc­e in a way that’s never before been possible,” chief digital officer Adam Brotman said in an interview. “It’s another channel that’s bringing additional business to the store.”

Starbucks, which first tested the app last year and expanded that trial in March, is increasing­ly looking to mobile technology and other convenienc­e tools to bolster US sales. The world’s biggest coffeeshop operator is experiment­ing with smaller, faster express stores in New York City and testing delivery this year.

Already, many Starbucks customers pay for their purchases with their phones, an approach that frees them from having to fumble with wallets or rewards cards. The order-ahead option makes it more convenient by allowing people to pick out their items before even walking in, letting them bypass lines. Mobile-phone payments make up about 20% of Starbucks’ US transactio­ns, and there are roughly 10.4-million active rewards members domestical­ly.

Other restaurant­s have been expanding their mobile systems and loyalty programmes in a bid to attract more diners. Taco Bell introduced a mobile app last year that lets diners order ahead and pay on their phones. It is helping drive a sales increase at the fastfood chain. Customers who use it spend more than $10 on an average order — about 20% more than those who order in person.

McDonald’s is also hopping on the trend, with plans to introduce a mobile app to its 14,350 domestic restaurant­s this year. Dunkin’ Donuts has said its rewards programme, which also is tied to its app, has attracted more than 3.2-million members.

Starbucks is looking for ways to take its app further. The company is working on adding suggestive selling features to encourage more food purchases, and it may expand its order-ahead capabiliti­es worldwide.

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