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Starbucks' mobile transactions exceed 26 million

December 6, 2011

It's been one year since Starbucks first rolled out its mobile payment application to more than 9,000 U.S. locations and others around the world. Since its launch of mobile payments in January, there have been 26 million mobile transactions to date.

While in the first nine weeks of the program, there were 3 million mobile transactions for the chain. That number doubled to 6 million for the nine-week period that began in October, demonstrating a significant jump in customer adoption and use.

This year, Starbucks also launched several other innovative programs. The company introduced the Starbucks for Android app, rolled out the Starbucks Card eGift feature and developed the augmented reality Starbucks Cup Magic app.

“2011 was a year of great mobile exploration and expansion for Starbucks and an opportunity to give our customers a new way to connect with Starbucks through a variety of mobile experiences,” said Adam Brotman, SVP and GM Starbucks Digital Ventures. “The customer response to our mobile apps has been phenomenal. Not only are they using their phone as a wallet, but as a connection point to Starbucks as they manage their Starbucks Card accounts, send eGifts and get into the holiday spirit with the Starbucks Cup Magic app.”

Globally, the Starbucks Card program had $2.4 billion loaded onto cards during Fiscal Year 2011, and Starbucks Cards are currently used in 1 out of every 4 transactions in the U.S. Since the card launched just over 10 years ago, more than $10 billion has been loaded onto Starbucks Cards. On the mobile front, since January 2011, there has been $110.5 million reloaded onto Starbucks Cards directly through the mobile app.

Christmas check-in promotion launches in China

To build on the international trend of mobile transactions, Starbucks has partnered with China's leading location-based social mobile app, Jiepang, for a Christmas check-in promotion.

The partnership is part of a final holiday promotion that will use a combination of outdoor advertising, NFC technology, location-based service and social media to create engaging experiences for consumers.

The campaign began Nov. 8 and runs through Dec 17. During that time, Jiepang users who "check-in" at a Starbucks store in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will receive a virtual Starbucks badge. When the number of badges issued hits 30,000, the virtual Christmas tree at Starbucks' event webpage will fully light up, and those who have collected the badge will be able to enjoy a free upgrade of their drink at Starbucks locations Dec. 17-25.

To further engage with consumers, starting this week, Jiepang has placed digital signs that display the campaign advertisement at more than 30 commercial buildings around those Starbucks stores in Shanghai. More importantly, these digital signs all have NFC tags on them. When consumers swipe a NFC-enabled smartphone over the tag, the phone will pop up a message showing them where the nearest Starbucks store is, and the fastest route to get there.

Also, on Dec 17, the huge LED screen of Raffles City Mall in People's Square, which is one of the busiest spots in Shanghai, will broadcast live the lighting up of the virtual Christmas tree for two hours.

"This is the largest as well as most creative campaign we have ever worked with Starbucks," said David Liu, founder and CEO of Jiepang. "It is interesting to see how a more traditional ad medium becomes a vital part of the location-based marketing, we believe this is going to be more and more popular going forward."

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