Having, read the article on the
"Mobile payment debuts nationally at starbucks” which was posted on starbucks newsroom on the 19th January 2011 about the launch of mobile payment using the starbucks card mobile application. I agree that customers would have a quicker and better access to payment after any purchase made in starbucks by using blackberry smartphones, i pad, I phone and other IOS devices. Today, starbucks just made life easier and convenient for people and also at the same time increased their chances to get more customers and make more profit as well. It was noticed that in 2010, customers loaded more than 1.5 million on starbucks card which was an increase by 21% over in 2009. Hence, this makes it a lot better for customers so they won’t have to carry around their credit or debit cards, and all they need is their mobile phones to make a payment. It is definitely an advantage having this method but, there is also the insecurity about mobile phones and actually having card or bank details on mobile phones. It may seem like a faster way of payment but doesn’t make getting your coffee which is the major reason why people got to Starbucks any faster.
For instance, if there are like 50 customers on the line trying to get their phones scanned so that they can get their coffee ready, they will get the payments made quickly but there is a preparation time or period in which the coffee will be made to get the right quality of coffee that makes Starbucks so popular . A change in this preparation time may affect the quality of the coffee being made and this will affect the inflow of customers into Starbucks. If this payment using the mobile phone is a faster way of paying for your coffee, does it mean that the coffees will be produced and handed over to customers just as fast as payments are being made, and if it is as fast, does it mean that the quality of coffee remains the same or is different by a minimal or wide margin due to the decreased waiting time? I also believe the credit or debit card is still a fast and reliable enough method of payment for coffee in any shop.
I agree with your post and made similar arguments in mine. It's obvious that Starbucks wants to stay innovative in any way they can; however I don't see how this new applications would make things easier.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, the customers will still have to wait in line; and we know how long they can be in Starbucks. Also this raises the question on how much we can actually rely on our smartphone... If there is no signal or any other problem, we wouldn't be able to pay for our coffee either! I agree with you and would rather use other kinds of payments; like my debit card.