Despite a slow start to the Starbucks app, the smartphone ordering system has now taken off to the point at which Starbucks has now shut down its online store in order to focus on purchases made through smartphones. When first released, the app quickly came under fire for creating long waits in stores for customers who ordered in person, such was the influx of online orders. The company combatted this by installing a dedicated staff member in each store to deal with online orders, which has decreased total wait time and increased customer satisfaction. 30 percent of transactions in New York City were done in advance, up 17 percent from the same time last year. Mobile ordering is important for building customer loyalty, as repeat orders can be made with ease. Now, in order to drive traffic to the app and into physical stores, Starbucks has shut down the online store section of the website. Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz told investors in April that stores need to become “experiential” in order to combat the dominance of e-commerce. “Your product and services, for the most part, cannot be available online and cannot be available on Amazon,” he said.
STARBUCKS APP’S SLOW SUCCESS
