Starbucks announced plans to deliver directly to consumers all across the U.S. through a new partnership with Uber Eats. Starting in early 2020, the Seattle-based coffee purveyor aims to expand beyond an initial 11-city rollout that demonstrated successful “operation integration” and customer reaction.
By partnering with Uber Eats, Starbucks is leveraging the expertise of the largest global delivery service outside of China while extending the potential customer base beyond those who currently hit up Starbucks on the regular. Through the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on innovation and technology integration, which specifically includes delivery packaging, in-store operations and “a quick order-to-door delivery window.”
The details remain to be seen, but it’s likely that the new partnership will include the ability for customers to accrue rewards points on Uber Eats orders, which wasn’t part of the brand’s first delivery test.
Delivery analyst, Andrew Charles, of Cowen said in a recent report that third-party delivery is already live at 2,900 Starbucks locations and accounts for approximately six percent of the brand’s sales.
The prospect of an on-demand iced coffee during the workday sounds delightful. With the convenience of delivery, maybe this fancy coffee thing will catch on with Americans. Stranger things have happened.
