Starbucks to pilot mobile ordering, delivery amid new Japan store expansion
Starbucks said it plans a major expansion in Japan of 300 new stores over three years, and will launch a series of e-commerce initiatives, including a pilot of mobile ordering and pay, a partnership with social media platform Line that will include digital payment and the launch of a delivery service with Uber Eats, in a company release.
Starbucks said the partnership with Line, which has 78 million users across Japan, will begin during the first half of 2019, and include a digital payment component.
The mobile ordering pilot will begin in 2019, allowing customers to pay for Starbucks coffee or food with a smartphone or other mobile device, skip the line and pick-up in the store. The pilot expands upon successful mobile ordering rollouts in the U.S. and other markets.
The Uber Eats agreement calls for a pilot of the delivery service, starting tomorrow, Nov. 9, in three Tokyo stores, two stores in Shinjuku and one store in Roppongi and plans to scale up the program within two years.
Starbucks said it will expand by about 100 stores a year, on top of the 1,392 stores it already operates in Japan, making the country its fourth biggest market in terms of store count. Starbucks said it plans to open a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo on Feb. 28th, in the upscale Nakameguro district.
In 2017 Starbucks entered a deal with Alipay to allow the platform to be used by Chinese tourists visiting Starbucks locations in Malaysia.