No, that isn’t referencing the success of a Starbucks drive-thru, although, that subject would fit given the context of the headline. What we’re referring to is the financial success of the Starbucks mobile payment program, which makes use of the Starbucks app in relation to purchasing their goods and services.
The mobile payment for coffee program was launched by Starbucks back in January, and since its inception, Starbucks has processed 26 million mobile transactions, making it one of the most popular mobile payment apps on the market. According to the Starbucks press release, not only are their customers open to using mobile devices to consume Starbucks’ goods, but consumers are “reloading” their Starbucks Cards apps after they are exhausted, to the tune of $110.5 million during 2011.
There’s even data for the most popular cities in relation to the Starbucks Card app use, and the findings should come as no surprise, considering the top five cities are New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Jose.
Let’s see, we have two of the most populated cities in the world, the city where Starbucks was born, and two of the tech industry homebases. Nope. No surprises here. Concerning the success of their mobile payment application, Starbucks is understandably excited:
“2011 was a year of great mobile exploration and expansion for Starbucks and an opportunity to give our customers a new way to connect with Starbucks through a variety of mobile experiences,” said Adam Brotman, svp and gm Starbucks Digital Ventures. “The customer response to our mobile apps has been phenomenal. Not only are they using their phone as a wallet, but as a connection point to Starbucks as they manage their Starbucks Card accounts, send eGifts and get into the holiday spirit with the Starbucks Cup Magic app.”
Due to the success of the mobile app, Starbucks is looking at expanding its area of functionality. In November, the company launched the service in Canada and in January 2012, the application debuts in the United Kingdom.
Are you cutting the cord to your wallet via your mobile device? Does the success of Starbucks’ application cause you to reconsider? Let us know what you think in the comments.