Customers using the Starbucks app for Apple devices will be able to tap on a “delivery” button when placing an order.
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Starbucks has announced that it is working with Postmates to launch a pilot delivery service in “designated areas” of its home city, Seattle.
Consumers first order via the Starbucks app, then await their cup with glee.
Delivery fees at Postmates start at , with an added 9% service fee. That means it already has a customer base that’s poised to use mobile payments for both pickups and deliveries, without the need to educate the customer base or explain the benefits.
Starbucks says it doesn’t have a timeline for offering delivery in Bellevue, Redmond, or additional Seattle neighborhoods.
However, in this case, determining which store will provide your coffee is handled behind the scenes. A Postmates employee will then pick up the order from the closest Starbucks location to the user and deliver it to their doorstep.
By building delivery into the company’s mobile app, Starbucks enables customer access to customisation options and the ability to earn stars and rewards through the coffee chain’s loyalty program. Starbucks says that at first there’ll be a one-hour window for deliveries, but that it expects most orders to arrive within 30 minutes.
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While Postmates has partnered with chains including McDonald’s and Chipotle in delivery tests, the Starbucks collaboration is unique in that customers order from the Starbucks app, not the Postmates app or website. In that case, a nationwide expansion would probably follow along the same lines that Mobile Order & Pay did – that is, a staged rollout instead of hitting all markets at once.
