Starbucks 2015: Marketing Convenience

In an effort to rally support after disclosing lower than expected sales this quarter, Starbucks announced that it is working on an app that will enable customers to pre-order beverages and eventually, have them delivered to you (Choi, 2014). They say that the pre-order feature should be ready first (Spring 2015), and that the delivery feature should be ready by end of 2015 (Choi, 2104). Their goal is to help enhance the experience for customers by having drinks warm and ready for people when they come through the door, and ultimately, allowing them to bypass long lines (Choi, 2014). A delivery feature will take convenience to the next level by having drinks brought right to your doorstep at the touch of a button; this feature however, will only be available in select cities (Choi, 2014).

In fact, CEO Howard Schultz bullishly likened the new convenience feature to a pumped up version of e-commerce, “Imagine the ability to create a standing order of Starbucks delivered hot to your desk daily,” Schultz said. “That’s our version of e-commerce on steroids,” (Little, 2014). However, Starbucks isn’t the only company marketing convenience. Apps like Instacart (grocery delivery), GlamSquad (hair & make-up services), Soothe (massage), Washio (laundry pick-up), and Google Shopping Express (pretty much everything else), all market convenience, by delivering some sort of product or service to consumers (Carson, 2013).

This surge in popularity for convenience apps might be telling us something about our culture today, and potentially what businesses should focus on next if they want to retain market share. It’s almost as if people simply don’t have the time to keep up with the demands of work and/or school, family, as well as personal needs anymore — and still have time to enjoy life. Perhaps that’s the reason why apps marketing convenience seem to be popping up everywhere: they are helping people get their lives back, one errand at a time.

What do you think about the new Starbucks app? Will you use it? Is convenience marketing a fad, or is it here to stay?

References

Carson, H. (2013). Convenience – there’s an app for that. Retrieved on November 6 from http://onboardly.com/startup-pr/convenience-theres-an-app-for-that/

Choi, C. (2014). Starbucks plans delivery after sales fall short. Retrieved Nov 6 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/starbucks-delivery-mobile_n_6079528.html

Little, K. (2014). Starbucks just announced big news about delivery. Retrieved on Nov 6 from http://www.cnbc.com/id/102138924#.