The times they are definitely changing. Just a few years ago it would have been unthinkable but now, some iPhone users can look forward to paying for their coffee with their iPhone. Really!
The new application, which is being made available to those who are in possession of a Starbucks loyalty card, synchronizes account and balance information with the iPhone.
As part of a trial run, some stores in San Francisco and Seattle are going to be allowing iPhone users to pay for their coffee using nothing other than their phone.
It works by use of a QR code which brings up the relevant information on the iPhone screen which the Starbucks staff can then scan and the users Starbucks account is automatically debited and Starbucks of course get their cash.
If the US trial is successful we can expect to see this service rolled out to other stores and other locations across the globe too.
Another Starbucks application available for the iPhone allows users to locate nearby Starbucks stores on a map and like all good mapping systems; it will provide you with directions so you can be sure of getting there.
That’s not all though, this app, named MyStarbucks, will also inform you of the calorie count in a particularly coffee. Does anyone really want to know?
Starbucks already offer free Wi-Fi for the growing number of coffee shop laptop users who prefer to telecommunicate in a social setting.
And they, like many other companies, are feeling the pinch of the credit crunch just now and so have to think of something new and innovative to pull in their customers.
In the past year, Starbucks have closed hundreds of stores in the USA, 11 of them in New York alone, and thousands of people lost their jobs as a result. Starbucks also say they have seen sales “softening” in the UK too.
Quite frankly, I don’t see how the release of two new apps is going to make much of a difference to the number of people visiting Starbucks for a daily dose of caffeine though, particularly as it’s only iPhone users who can benefit.
Now if they lowered the cost of a cup of coffee that might be a different story. According to a Rasmussen Report last year, a whopping seventy three percent of American adults believe that Starbucks coffee is over priced.
I got to admit though it’s kinda cool sitting in any coffee shop with a steaming cup of coffee and a laptop to get me through a day’s work, regardless of how I can pay for it.
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