Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay to expand to UK, Canada, more US States

The Mobile Order & Pay app allows customers to place an order from their mobile phone, thereby skipping the line at the register. Though the app is currently available only for Apple iPhone users, Starbucks plans to introduce an Android version soon.

Starbucks had initially conducted a trial of the solution in Portland, Oregon late in 2014 which was further expanded to the Pacific Northwest in March 2015. The pilot was well-received by customers and the initiative is currently active at close to 3,500 locations across the US, almost half of Starbucks’ store base in the country. The company plans to launch the service across all the stores by the end of 2015.

States where the initiative is supported include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

Starbucks plans to continue a national rollout throughout 2015. Starbucks’ commitment to enhancing the customer experience and the ease of use for both customers and partners (baristas) is expected to increase the speed of service and drive incremental transactions. Mobile Order & Pay allows customers to place orders before they arrive at the store and pick them up at their selected Starbucks store. The app interface shows store locations, which appear based on the GPS functionality of the customer’s phone. The mobile ordering process involves scrolling through the menu on the app interface, picking your choice of items and your store of preference, and then paying using the in-app payment system. The particular store gets notified of the order, which is prepared and kept ready for when the customer arrives at the store.

Launched in 2010, the company’s mobile wallet app has now gained 16 million active users who make about eight million payments a week through the app. This equates to about 19% of all the transactions in their US stores. After launching this mobile wallet app in Germany and France, the company is preparing to rollout the successful Mobile Order & Pay service across the UK and Canada as well.