Starbucks took a long term bet on digital a long time ago. Now attention is turning to the future of payment tech, including securing a role as a trust legitimiser for Blockchain.
Mobile payments in Starbucks US business now accounts for fast approaching a third of total tender. This is hugely significant, argues CEO Kevin Johnson, and leads in turn to exploration of new payment models and methods:
The ubiquity of mobile and credit card payment is enabling us to begin an exploration of cashless stores in the US. We expect payment methods will continue to evolve with acceptance increasingly becoming the global currency of the future.
Building on partnerships with companies like Chase, Tencent, Alibaba and others, enables us to explore new ideas that leverage our digital assets, global retail footprint and global customer base with the digital payment platforms of today, while also monitoring the landscape of potential payment platforms of the future.
Through our Rewards program, we continue to drive increases in per member spend by leveraging personalized offerings and suggested selling to our customers.
By expanding capacity at peak, we have now the ability to offer Mobile Order and Pay to our non-Rewards customers and will begin accelerating the ramp up of Mobile Order and Pay to all customers beginning in March. We are accelerating our marketing engagement to expand digital customer relationships.
Next month Starbucks will launch a co-branded credit card in partnership with Chase and Visa. Users of this card will be able to earn Star reward points at “an accelerated rate at Starbucks” as well as in other retail outlets.
That’s going to be followed up in April with a co-branded – again with Chase and Visa – store value card. This will be pitched at customers who don’t want, or who don’t quality for, credit cards.
Source/More: Starbucks places a downpayment on a Blockchain vision
