Starbucks is going all in with mobile app features, and soon we will all be able to limit conversation with that way-too-cheerful barista.
The coffee company will be testing a program that will allow customers to forgo the long lines, pull out their phones to order and pay through the Starbucks app. The initial testing will begin in Portland, OR, by the end of 2014, with a national rollout planned by the end of 2015.
A couple of weeks ago, we saw Square announce they'd be testing a similar program with coffee shops, and Starbucks probably said, "We could do that too, right?"
Starbucks is pretty keen on mobile features, as their loyalty reward program has done well, so much so that 15 percent of all purchases are being made through mobile devices so customers can rack up those loyalty points.
Hooray for line ditching!
H/T USA Today
