Starbucks’ Mobile Order And Pay Going International

Starbucks’ mobile momentum is brewing strong as the company announced today (Sept. 22) that its Mobile Order & Pay feature was expanding to more stores nationwide — with international offerings on the horizon.

The coffee company said that the option is now available in more than 7,400 stores by using the Starbucks App that’s available on iOS or Android devices. Next on the mobile ordering list will be the rollout in select stores in the U.K. and Canada in October.

“Bringing Mobile Order and Pay to our customers is about meeting their needs of convenience and customization at any time of the day” said Adam Brotman, Starbucks chief digital officer. “The fact that it also represents the fastest technology application rollout we have ever done is indicative of the strength of our digital ecosystem, how well it has been received by both our customers and store partners and the impact we think it can have on the future of retail.”

Last week, Scott Maw, CFO at Starbucks, explained how the national coffee chain has experienced resounding success with its pilot mobile ordering and payment program in cities like Portland and Seattle. Although Starbucks’ original plan was to complete a nationwide rollout of the mobile ordering program by the end of 2015, Maw said that every company-owned store would instead offer the service by the end of September.

“We’ve spent the money and taken the cost to do that because we know we have a winner and [mobile orders and payments are] running ahead of our expectations,” Maw said in the conference call. “Mobile Order & Pay roll out will have all company-owned stores rolled out by the end of this month including … in New York.”

Seeking to add more functionality to an already popular service, Maw also explained that when mobile orders and payments become available across the country, customers will be able to look through customized menus based on the stores nearest to them at the time. Moreover, Android users can expect a dedicated app to join the iOS version already in use by the end of the month.

A nationwide rollout of the mobile orders and payments program could lay the groundwork for an expansion of Starbucks’ subscription delivery service as well. Such rapid growth may prove more troublesome though, as Starbucks will have to coordinate a cross-country growth plan for its partnering on-demand delivery service, Postmates.

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