Starbucks App

By: Allie Blankenship, Monica Ruiz, Sara Sonoski, Stacia Chavarria & Emily Ecklund

Ideation

• Customers are looking for extra value. This scheme allows us to be more personal, rewarding the most frequent customers with extra benefits. We also know that fewer customers want to use cash, so putting My Starbucks Reward on mobiles offers a faster, easier way to pay.

– Ian Cranna, Vice-President of Marketing for Starbucks UK

• Replicates Starbucks’ Rewards Card• Fill or refill account with PayPal or credit card• Barcode received to show at barista counter

Launch

• January 2011• Initially only available for iPhone

and Blackberry• Processed 26 million transactions &

$110 million loaded onto these cards 11 months after launch

• Projects annual mobile payments will hit $44 billion by 2017

Strategies

• Partnership with Square• No NFC usage (Near Field Communication)• Check balance and collect rewards• Aimed at American audience and grew to UK• We wanted to find a way for them to pay in the

quickest way possible. Because our customers want it, we have created our own custom-built mobile payment technology rather than waiting for the near field communication technology which is currently not widely available. We're always thinking of new ways to add value to our customers and give them more reasons to choose Starbucks.

– Brian Waring, VP of marketing and category for Starbucks in the UK

Revenue

• App generates 35 million monthly visitors• 3 million mobile transactions/week in the

US• In the first quarter of 2013, Starbucks saw

$1 billion loaded on Starbucks Cards, a 25% increase from a year earlier and a new record for the company. 

• Starbucks Rewards system accounts for 25% of all US tender

References

• http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/10/2938015/starbucks-app-ios-android-number-of-payments

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8992712/Starbucks-launches-pay-by-app-for-iPhone-users.html

• http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/4/4396750/starbucks-app-mobile-payments• http://gigaom.com/2012/12/10/starbucks-mobile-vets-get-10m-for-cardfree-white-label-

commerce-tool/• http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/10/2938015/starbucks-app-ios-android-number-of-

payments• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/starbucks-mobile-payment_n_810922.html• http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2011/11/

starbucks_mobile_payment_application_launching_in_the_uk.html• http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/03/28/starbucks-stirs-mobile-purchases-its-apps• http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/starbucks-generates-more-than-3m-mobile-pay

ment-transactions-per-week

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/thestreet/2013/02/22/starbucks-secret-recipe-for-growth/