The mobile payment application from Starbucks is helping the coffee company to encourage consumers to make purchases more frequently and is helping its revenue growth.
Starbucks revealed this information by way of a company executive during a statement about its first quarter 2012 earnings. The exec indicated that mobile payments now pay a very important role for the organization. It was explained that the additional transaction method helps to provide the company with a competitive advantage that drives revenue.
The Starbucks president and CEO, Howard Schultz, said that “We are the number one company not in the U.S. but in the world in terms of mobile payment, transactions and dollars.” He went on to say that many companies are dealing with macro issues, but that Starbucks has been able to convert that situation into a competitive advantage in terms of social digital media, overall value, and mobile payment.
From January 2011 – when the program was launched – through December 2011, Starbucks was able to achieve approximately 26 million transactions over mobile devices.
The app is available for both iOS- and Android-based smartphones, and it allows consumers to load their Starbucks card with funds from any major credit card, review their transactions, and check their balance. It creates a unique barcode that can be downloaded into the smartphone so that it can be displayed at the checkout counter.
During the first quarter of 2011 alone, Starbucks saw an increase in revenue by 16 percent, which represented $3.4 billion and broke the company’s record.
