As Professor Miyazaki already discussed in his last blog entry, Starbucks is about to introduce a new model of payment in the form of using a smartphone application with a pre-paid amount to rapidly purchase an item. It sounds pretty easy to begin using, effortless in practical application, and it builds on the fact that more and more people are starting to use smart phones for various uses than just phone calls, texting, and basic internet browsing.
Personally, I think that in theory, this is an excellent way of speeding up purchases, reducing lines, and ultimately, increasing business as a store would be able to serve more people. The only real question is about the protection of this data being stored and transmitted, and whether or not proper safety protocols are in place for something like this. Typically, as technology advances in a new, more radical manner, threat protection lags behind until the security holes are found and fixed. As this Mashable article points out, online payment methods and financial storage is far from 100% safe (if iTunes can experience a major hacking within the last few months, what's to stop a Starbucks debit account?), so while it's good for Starbucks to lead the way in introducing such a major new form of payment, it might be awhile until consumers really buy in.
Well said... However, I can actually see starbucks succeeding with this innovation. Why? Loyal starbucks customer's don't exactly fit the profile of a "sensible consumer". I see the mobile app as a way for starbucks to strengthen its position in a niche market.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, $1.5 billion were loaded onto starbucks cards in 2010, and according to www.starbucksgossip.com, 1 in 8 starbucks customers pays with a starbucks debit card.