Customers can now use the Starbucks mobile order and pay app for a simple pick up of their beverages when they get to the store.
Too rushed for time to stand in line or wait in the drive-through for a cup of coffee?
Starbucks feels your pain and has come up with a way to ease it. The Seattle-based coffee giant is offering Mobile Order & Pay nationwide on iOS and Android devices for java lovers who like speed and convenience.
The new mobile app feature lets Starbucks’ customers to order and pay through the app, then pick it up at a store without waiting in line. Orders go directly to the nearest store or to the location the customer chooses. Photos of drink and food items makes ordering easy, and orders are saved for future visits.
“Bringing Mobile Order and Pay to our customers is about meeting their needs of convenience and customization at any time of the day” said Adam Brotman, Starbucks chief digital officer, in a company news release.
Starbucks began experimenting with the feature in December in Portland, Ore., and expanded it to the Pacific Northwest in March. Based on its success, it launched the program in an additional 3,400 stories across 17 U.S. states this summer.
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The recent national rollout makes the features available at 7,400 company-owned stores nationwide. Starbucks plans to introduce it in select company-owned stores in the United Kingdom and Canada in October.
Customers polled by Starbucks say they like the feature because it’s fast and easy. When leaving their house for school or work, for example, they can place their order and have it ready at the bar when they arrive at the store. Entering an estimated pickup time ensures the item is freshly prepared.
Mobile Order & Pay is the latest Starbucks initiative to hit the market this fall. For the first time, Starbucks is selling 12 packs of its bottled, pumpkin spice-flavored Frappuccinos. But they are only available at Costco and for a limited time.
Starbucks also recently announced a partnership with French retailer Monoprix to open coffee shops in the stores, which sell food, clothing, household items and gifts. Starbucks plans to open the first two locations at Monoprix stores in Paris and Lyon by the end of the year.
As of the end of fiscal year 2014, France had about 10% of the 800-plus company-operated Starbucks locations in Europe but no licensed locations. Monoprix has more than 600 stores across France. Starbucks has more than 22,500 locations worldwide.
