Coffee isn’t the only thing brewing these days at Starbucks. The captains of caffeine are forging ahead with the newest expansion of the Starbucks mobile platform with the launch of Starbucks for Android app.
Android users now have access to what the coffee giant calls “the fastest way to pay and other features to manage their Starbucks Card on-the-go.” Starbucks for Android is available through Android Market for Android phones running 2.1 or above.
Looking toward the future, Starbucks similarly announced much bigger ambitions for its mobile payments platform.
Safeway, Inc., one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, is partnering with Starbucks to introduce mobile payments next month at nearly 1,000 Starbucks in Safeway supermarkets across the United States, including the company’s Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Genuardi’s stores.
With mobile payment capability at nearly 6,800 U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores and more than 1,000 Starbucks Target locations, bringing mobile payment to Starbucks Safeway stores will extend the reach of Starbucks mobile payment to roughly 9,000 Starbucks locations across the country.
“The expansion of our mobile payment footprint has been driven by customer interest and input. With the addition of Starbucks for Android to the Starbucks app line-up, a Starbucks mobile payment app may now be used on approximately 90 percent of smartphones currently in use,” says Adam Brotman, vice president, general manager, Digital Ventures at Starbucks Coffee Company.
“Starbucks is committed to providing customers richer experiences — both in our stores and on-the-go. By expanding mobile payment capabilities to Android smartphones and with Safeway now offering mobile payment in its close to 1,000 Starbucks locations, we’re giving customers the opportunity to experience mobile payment in more ways and at more Starbucks locations,” Brotman adds.