Starbucks beta trials new order-ahead feature in Portland, Oregon
Starbucks is shaking up the retail world with a new order-ahead feature that allows customers to order their favorite latte using their iPhone before they arrive at their local Starbucks. According to Wired, the new ordering tab will be available to iPhone owners in the test market of Portland, Oregon starting Wednesday.
The feature will use geolocation to determine a customer's location and show them an ordering tab when they approach a local Starbucks cafe. Starbucks designed the feature to be an extension of the existing mobile payments option in its iPhone app, making it easy and convenient for customers to use.
After a successful beta test in Portland, the "Mobile Order & Pay" feature will rollout on a city-by-city basis throughout 2015. Given Starbucks track record with mobile payments, this initiative has a reasonable chance of succeeding. The company recently confirmed that it processes approximately 47 million transactions each week with 7 million of those coming from mobile devices.
