The coffee giant has finally announced its intentions to expand its smartphone based experience in China.
The Seattle-based coffee giant will finally be launching its Starbucks mobile payments in China. This expansion of its digital features has been long anticipated within that tremendous market. This will make it possible for customers to pay for orders using their smartphones. They will also be able to collect My Starbucks Rewards.
The company announced the availability of this mobile commerce experience for over 2,200 Chinese locations.
In a press release, Starbucks China president, Belinda Wong, explained, “Our customers in China have a very high expectation of their digital experience and we are thrilled that the new mobile payment experience will enhance and transform the way we connect and build a meaningful relationship with them.”
She went on to say that Starbucks makes a priority of leveraging “digital innovations” such as the Starbucks mobile payments to provide an ever improving customer experience. She said customers enjoy the convenience of their social, card, web, social and loyalty assets. This step will further differentiate this company within the tremendous Chinese market.
The Starbucks mobile payments experience is already the leader in the world in terms of success.
The company has achieved and maintained dominance within the mobile commerce marketplace. This ongoing success was confirmed in April when the second quarter earnings were released. On average, Starbucks experiences 8 million Mobile Order & Pay transactions every month. This not only represents considerable success but it also reveals a staggering growth.
The most recent reporting showed that there was a growth in mobile transactions by a sizeable 2 million per month. From the first quarter to the second, the company reported a 24 percent increase in Starbucks mobile payments transactions. That was even higher than the growth rate from Q4 2015 to Q1 2016, which was 21 percent. Over the last year, there has been a doubling of Mobile Order & Pay usage, reported the company. CEO Howard Schults said “Loyalty, technology and innovation are continuing to fuel our digital flywheel and propel our business forward all around the world.”
