Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz always knew that mobile customer engagement was a burgeoning tool for the company’s loyal customer base. It appears Schultz was prescient in his thinking.
In December 2014, Starbucks introduced Mobile Order & Pay to 150 stores in Portland, OR. Since then, it expanded to more than 600 stores in the Pacific Northwest and, ultimately, nationwide−an initiative seen as a massive boost to customer engagement.
During the company’s Jan. 21 fiscal first-quarter conference call, Schultz noted....