Mobile Marketing Case Study: Starbucks App

What was once a humble local coffee shop in Seattle, Starbucks has quickly expanded to become the largest coffeehouse company in the world. Boasting hot and cold beverages, whole-bean coffee, full-leaf teas, pastries, and snacks, Starbucks has become associated with an upscale cafe experience. As technology began to shift, Starbucks needed to innovate in order to remain the leader in the field.

And with that, the Starbucks App was born.

How does it work? The Starbucks App is like a Starbucks Card, store locator, e-gift giver, and rewards tracker all wrapped into one.

Users can...

• Reload and manage their Starbucks Card. With a few taps on the screen, users can reload money onto their pre-existing Starbucks card or apply a physical card's worth onto the app.
• Locate the nearest Starbucks. Using GPS technology, the app can recognize the closest Starbucks to any location.
• Give Starbucks cards to their friends. Within a few clicks, users can send highly customizable cyber cards to their friends.
• Track their stars. Starbucks' star rewards system gives users stars for each purchase, which are redeemable for free drinks and foods. Users can see how many free items they have accumulated and when they will be receiving their next perk.

Who is using it? A lot of people, apparently! As of July 2013, it was reported that over 10% of transactions were made over the Starbucks app. If you consider how many stores their are worldwide, and how many consistent customers they have (many of which go more than once in a day), that is a lot of mobile purchasing.

The Starbucks app is used mostly by men and women aged 24 to 34. An interesting study revealed that although most mobile payment apps are primarily used by men, the Starbucks app is used by 54% women. This proves that the app is intuitive even for those unfamiliar with mobile commerce.

Is it effective? Absolutely.

As an obsessor of all things Starbucks, this app has truly revolutionized the way I interact with the brand. Plus, and I didn't even know this would be possible, the app makes me go to Starbucks even more. Why? Because I reload my card with just a few clicks, it doesn't feel like I'm spending excessive amounts of cash on my coffee habit. It's incredibly dangerous, but incredibly effective.

Don't believe me? The 10%+ of payments made via the app should speak for itself. In case that doesn't, it was reported in January of 2013 that over 7 Million users were signed up for the app. In that same study, they reported 2.1 Million payments were made through the app per week.

In conclusion, the Starbucks App fuels the user to stay a loyal customer, much like the caffeine in Starbucks' coffee fuels the world.