Starbucks Enters Mobile Commerce With iPhone App

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September 28, 2009
By the ZippyCart Shopping Carts Content Team

As mobile commerce continues to gain in popularity, more retailers are coming up with unique ways to reach consumers. The mobile phone that is dominating this movement is the iPhone which is currently only available to AT&T customers. The iPhone app store has long been home to the most cutting edge mobile commerce technologies and now is home to brand new apps from Starbucks. Starbucks debuted a store finder and menu information app for the iPhone, and is testing a second app in Seattle and parts of California that will let customers use the phone as their Starbucks card.

The first app from Starbucks entitled myStarbucks is not as focused on mobile commerce, but more on giving customers a way to stay on top of store locations, nutritional information, and custom drinks they can save. The hope is that customers will now be connected to Starbucks wherever they go and be able find the nearest open location with the right amenities like a drive through window. The second app which we are likely to see from other retailers soon is an iPhone app that acts as a Starbucks gift card which customers can refill via their credit card and then all they need at Starbucks is their mobile phone. Customers can pull up the app and their gift card bar code and the Starbucks employee can scan it and it will deduct from their card. The trial period, which is only in Seattle – the home of Starbucks – and a handful of Bay Area cities in California, will provide the data to determine if the program should expand.