Starbucks to Roll Out Mobile Ordering

One story has captured the imagination and attention of the world’s coffee and technology media (if there is indeed such a thing): Starbucks’ decision to potentially kill off the queue.

After a successful trial period, the popular coffee chain announced earlier today that an update to their popular mobile application will see the introduction of an ordering form.

The service will allow customers to place a drinks order at a Starbucks store in their vicinity, pay for it and then collect it. And then enjoy it, obviously.

This mobile service initially started off as a test in late 2014 in a handful of their Portland stores before branching out to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, and then out to a total of seventeen states across America.

Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, has already talked about the app’s potential. Earlier this year he told Reuters that the trial was sales and profits were on the increase in areas where the app was available.

According to Schultz, the mere existence of their Mobile Order & Pay capabilities was luring customers back to the brand who may have been ‘turned off by long lines and waiting times.’

“Lines are shorter,” he said back in July. “Service is faster and in-store operations are more efficient.”

So far, the announcement has been fairly well received with customers and it’s been met with a clearly positive reaction from both industry and investor websites alike.

Speaking about the announcement, Adam Brotman, Starbucks’ CDO (Chief Digital Officer), had this to say: “Bringing Mobile Order and Pay to our customers is about meeting their needs of convenience and customisation at any time of the day.”

“The fact that it also represents the fastest technology application rollout we have ever done is indicative of the strength of our digital ecosystem, how well it has been received by both our customers and store partners, and the impact we think it can have on the future of retail.”

The last point we think is very important. Whilst ‘click and collect’ platforms are widely used in retail, their use in the food and beverage sector is quite limited. If Starbucks shows that this can work, then everybody from fast-food restaurants to sandwich shops could look at implementing their own derivative.

But as Cosmopolitan pointed out, the best part of the app could be that it removes the need to talk to other people without being dosed up caffeine.

Initially the update will only be available in the United States, but it is expected to roll out to the United Kingdom and Canada in the next couple of weeks.