Starbucks (SBUX) -) is known for its novel flavor profiles and interesting coffee customizations in the kitchen.
Many of its most popular drinks are Starbucks originals; you'd be hard-pressed to find another Iced White Chocolate Mocha, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Cinnamon Roll Frappuccino Blended Coffee, or Java Chip Frappuccino outside of the comfortable green and black walls.
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Starbucks is constantly iterating new products to keep customers happy and returning. It caters to a host of different palates and preferences, and one of the reasons it's so successful is because it's always coming up with original ideas.
But another secret to its success is its ability to learn from other businesses. Its entire cafe model, after all, is based off of the Italian coffee bars scattered around big cities that churn bold espressos and patisserie out by the dozens every day. Some of its other ideas, however, don't come from small mom and pop cafes. They come from corporations and conglomerates who know how to leverage data and logistics to their advantage.
Take Amazon (AMZN) -), for instance, which recently began testing a cashier-less system called Just Walk Out, which allows customers to pick up what they need and simply leave when they're done in participating stores.
Each store uses myriad sensors and cameras to identify each customer, what they're taking off shelves, and what they walk out with. It's a data gold mine, and plenty of folks claim it's convenient. Still others complain that it makes going to the grocery store unnecessarily invasive. Reception has been mixed and rollout has been slow.
And over 500 Whole Foods have introduced Amazon One palm payment technology, which allows customers to scan their palm so the store can identify payment and membership status without ever needing to flash a credit card. It's clear that Amazon's intention to make shopping easier (and staff smaller) is probably here to stay.
Starbucks is now joining the league of futuristic payment technologies, introducing a similar approach in its drive throughs.
Starbucks tests a new way to pay
Starbucks isn't going quite as far as Amazon just yet, though does have plans to introduce a reduced-friction way to pay for customers using its drive through features, which can get congested particularly during high coffee run times.
The plan, which is still being proven out and isn't actually in use yet at any cafes, uses the Starbucks app. It identifies whether a customer is in the drive through lane and then charges their account automatically so a driver never has to pull out his or her phone or wallet.
It's designed to cut down on time spent in the drive through, as juggling a phone and launching an app, then showing it to a cashier for scanning can be quite cumbersome and time-consuming.
"Scanless pay in the drive-through helps you get your order fast. We use your device’s location services to identify you when you arrive so you don’t have to pull out your wallet or device when paying at the drive-through," the Starbucks app reads in reference to the new technology.
The new tech hasn't been rolled out yet, and it's not clear whether it will be at all. Still, this marks a very definite step in the right direction to cut down on drive through times. Though, presumably, not all customers will be happy with their data and location being shared through the Starbucks app.
Chick Fil A also recently announced plans to cut down on waiting and drive through times; it will be launching two proprietary test concepts in Atlanta and New York City in 2024.
