Mobile innovation pays off for Starbucks

Starbucks says that mobile payments now account for 30% of its transactions in US stores. The company made the announcement as it posted $5.66 billion in revenue for its third quarter. Payments made via mobile were up from 29 per cent in the previous quarter and 27 per cent in Q1.

Mobile Order and Pay, which lets customers order with their smartphones via the Starbucks app and skip the line, accounted for nine per cent of transactions. That’s up from eight per cent in the previous quarter.

“Starbucks leveraged food and beverage innovation, an elevated in-store experience and personalised digital connections to our customers to deliver another quarter of record financial and operating performance, despite the softness impacting our principal sectors overall,” says Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. “Continued focus on execution against our strategic priorities enabled us to gain share and positions us well for the future.”

The introduction of Mobile Order and Pay has not been without its problems, causing in-store congestion issues for those picking up orders. Starbucks has moved to address this by adding dedicated stations for mobile order-ahead customers and giving baristas new tablets.