Starbucks taps Alibaba tech for Shanghai launch

Starbucks is laying claim to its biggest and most interactive location to date, in Shanghai, following a team up with Alibaba Group. The two-story, 30,000-square-foot Roastery will be the company’s second after Seattle, with small-lot Reserve coffee sourced from around the globe, including China’s Yunnan province, prepared for sale and onsite consumption.

It will also be the first of Starbucks’ 27,000 locations worldwide, and the first of its kind in China, to integrate a real-time, in-store and online customer experience, powered by Alibaba’s mobile Taobao app and augmented reality technology.

China is Starbuck’s fastest-growing market, with 3,000 stores in 136 cities, 600 of which are in Shanghai. The new Shanghai Roastery officially opens today. Further details here.