What Starbucks refers to as "digital flywheel" investments are paying off.
The Seattle coffee chain reports 25% of its transactions during its fiscal fourth quarter were mobile payments, up from 20% last year.
Additionally, Starbucks mobile order and pay reached 7% of transactions, and 3,300 Starbucks locations are handling 10% of its orders at peak periods through mobile order and pay. In the 600 top performing stores, 20% of peak transaction volume is now mobile order and pay.
Starbucks Corp.-labeled paper cups are stacked at the counter at the company's first India outlet in Mumbai, India, on Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. Starbucks, which opened its first store in India today, will maintain its partnership with Tata Global Beverages Ltd. and plans to take some of that companys products to new markets, Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
"The data shows that mobile order and pay is making a difference for both our partners and our customers," said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and COO, according to Thomson Reuters' transcript of Starbucks fiscal fourth quarter earnings call. Johnson adding new features will be deployed shortly, including real-time personalized product suggestions and the ability to save favorite orders. "For customers mobile order provides a simple, elegant ordering experience enabling convenience when they want it and it rewards them with stars along the way," Johnson said. "For partners, mobile order and pay allows the consumer to save favorite stores and favorite customer beverages."
Overall, Starbucks profit rose 23% to $801 million, or 54 cents a share. Profit rose to 56 cents a share, up from 43 cents per share the prior year and revenue rose 16% to $5.71 billion, above the $5.68 billion projected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. For the full year, Starbucks expects to earn $2.12 to $2.14 per share with sales up in the mid-single digits. That's a bit off of analysts projections of $2.16 per share and sales increasing 5.3%.
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