Starbucks Unleashes Mobile Order & Pay, With Delivery to Soon Follow

September 23, 2024 by

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It was a big day for Starbucks just recently when the company dropped word about several major mobile developments, starting with great news for those who wanted to use the company’s Mobile Order and Pay services, but didn’t live in the areas where it was being tested at the time.

These services have now gone national, and that—as great as it was—was just the tip of the iceberg.

While the Mobile Order and Pay system had been previously seen at a wide array of locations previously—it was measured in the “several thousands” strong—it was in beta and on iOS devices alone. Now the floodgates are open, and most anyone can place an order from a mobile device, pay for it via the same device, and pick it up at the Starbucks of a user’s choice.

Users can make selections via a basic touchscreen interface, and then pay using a Starbucks card, or via other methods, including, not surprisingly, Apple Pay.

But if even that sounds like an inconvenience, the company even had an extra update to an item heard about not long ago: delivery. Yes, Starbucks is poised to not only allow for mobile payment and ordering, but it’s also getting set to start testing its delivery concept.

This won’t go nationwide immediately, of course, but the testing is set to start by the end of the year and allow at least some users the ability to not only order and pay for Starbucks material by remote, but also have it brought to them directly.

Starbucks reportedly plans to partner with Postmates in deliveries in Seattle, where users turning to Mobile Order & Pay can have it delivered, while in New York City, a “green apron” service will be available in the Empire State Building before 2015 ends, allowing occupants to make orders and have such delivered by the Starbucks located in the building itself.

It’s not exactly an ambitious test, but at this stage of the game, it doesn’t really need to be ambitious. All it needs to do is determine if it can work, where it can work, and just what kind of delivery radius is feasible. For those who live more than 30 miles away from a Starbucks, is it viable for Starbucks to deliver? Does a certain minimum order value need to be in place? Is tipping required or just suggested?

There are a lot of points to answer in a concept like this and that’s exactly what the test runs will determine. Still, this is a serious score for mobile payments users, and based on what we’ve seen from the restaurant trade, it’s likely only a matter of time before more places start taking at least a similar track. Who can afford not to, as everyone from Taco Bell to Weinerschnitzel start bringing out similar concepts?

Fast food—indeed, a lot of different kinds of food—might just be about ready to get faster soon, and that’s going to be a development most any fast food patron can get behind.

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