Tag: starbucks

Starbucks to launch new mobile commerce service next year

Company announces plans to make new services available nationwide in 2015

Starbucks is planning to launch a new service for iPhone users next year. The service is called Mobile Order & Pay and has already been made available in Oregon as part of a pilot project. Next year, the company plans to make this service available throughout the U.S., allowing customers to place orders from their iPhone before they even set foot in a Starbucks store. The service is part of the company’s ongoing mobile commerce mission.

Users of the new service will be able to place and pay for orders before they set foot in a Starbucks store

Starbucks has established a strong place in the U.S. mobile commerce space. The company has been seeing a significant portion of its business come from mobile consumers in recent years and has been building new services that cater specifically to these consumers. Many people can already pay for their orders using a mobile device in Starbucks stores, but the new service will allow them to place orders before they arrive at these stores. Mobile Order & Pay will inform users when their order will be ready and these orders can be paid for in advance.

16% of Starbucks’ in-store transactions come from mobile devices

Mobile Commerce - StarbucksApproximately 16% of Starbucks’ in-store transactions are made through a mobile device, according to Adam Brotman, the company’s Chief Digital Officer. Brotman notes that Starbucks has been actively working on mobile services in order to engage consumers more effectively and the company’s endeavors have been paying off thus far.

Mobile Order & Pay service may be available for the Android platform at some point in the future

The Mobile Order & Pay service will initially only be available for iPhone devices. The service’s availability on other devices may be expanded in the future, if the demand is high enough. Many Starbucks customers already use their iOS devices to purchase products, but a growing number of Android users are beginning to do so as well. Android devices hold a strong place in the mobile commerce space, but lag behind iOS devices when it comes to mobile payments.

Can Dunkin’ Donuts replicate the mobile payments success of Starbucks

The question that many are now asking is whether or not the achievement is of the brand or the system.

Dunkin’ Donuts has had its own mobile app for a while now, and this application allows smartphone users to be able to accumulate loyalty points as well as make mobile payments in order to complete their transactions while in stores, but recent data is now causing many to ask whether the same successes seen at Starbucks could be possible in this rival franchise.

Some data regarding the usage of this mobile app has provided insight into this coffee shop trend.

According to a report issued by BI Intelligence, which provided then results of some number crunching with regards to the data that Dunkin’ Donuts has made available, there are a number of points that can be understood about the way that the mobile payments app is being used at that company’s locations. Though that company does not report the actual dollar volume that is achieved as a result of transactions over mobile devices, the data that they have provided still shows some interesting trends.

The Dunkin’ Donuts data has provided some indications with regards to the traction of the mobile payments app.

Mobile Payments - Dunkin' DonutsAmong the points reported by BI Intelligence included the following:

• The Dunkin’ Donuts mobile app has, according to the company’s own figures, already been downloaded more than 10 million times. It was originally launched in August 2012.
• The Starbucks application is currently reported to be maintaining 12 million active users in North America.
• At Starbucks, more than 15 percent of all of the transactions completed in the United States locations are m-payments.

The BI Intelligence report stated that one of the primary drivers of success of the Starbucks mobile payments app is the company’s loyalty program. Dunkin’ Donuts has clearly used a similar strategy in encouraging the adoption and use of its own application. When using that app, customers are able to build “DD Perks” rewards points, which can later be redeemed in order to obtain free items such as beverages. QR codes are also central to the verification process for transactions in the apps of both companies.