SEATTLE – Mobile Payments Today questioned earlier this week whether Starbucks should license its mobile application, and if so, the marketing lesson that should accompany such an initiative.
The article comes a week after Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz revealed that tech companies and major retailers have approached the coffee chain about helping them duplicate Starbucks’ success in the mobile space.
“[I]t might also want to give interested parties a marketing lesson or two about how to build a rabid, active consumer base,” Mobile Payments Today wrote about any such future licensing effort. “The company would not be the benchmark for mobile payments without them.”
Starbucks’ mobile success is a reflection of its passionate customers, and other retailers might consider establishing similar connections before looking for mobile payments success.
"It's kind of a bit of wishful thinking," James Wester, research director of global payments for IDC Financial Insights. "What makes Starbucks successful in selling coffee might not necessarily lend itself to white-labeling a mobile application and getting into payments.”