Starbucks. Made worse on purpose.
Starbucks made its app worse on purpose. Mobile customers now wait three times longer than walk-ins, and it is saving the business.
THE GIST ON STARBUCKS: "What Do We Really Want"
What was going wrong?
Starbucks had been declining for 18 months. Mobile orders made up 30 percent of sales, and each one was a customer paying Starbucks prices without getting the thing that made it worth the price.
The more convenient it was to skip the experience, the less reason anyone had to choose Starbucks.
What did it do?
Compete on speed and you are competing with McDonald's, and McDonald's always wins. A 5 pound cappuccino is only justified if it isn't just about the coffee.
So Starbucks made it less convenient: it prioritised walk-ins, closed pickup-only stores and added seating back in. In the first quarter of this year sales rose 4 percent, its first growth in two years.
What do we actually want?
We say we want everything faster and more convenient, but when Starbucks gave us that, we stopped paying for it. What we want is to feel like we're somewhere, not just getting something.
You're paying for somewhere to be: the waiting, the sitting, existing in a place that's not work or home. Starbucks almost died because it listened to what we said instead of watching what we paid for.
Coffee shop: are you paying for the coffee or the seat?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
Why did Starbucks slow its app?
Mobile orders were customers paying full prices without the experience, and speed put it in competition with McDonald's.
What changes did it make?
It prioritised walk-ins, closed pickup-only stores and put seating back in.
Did it work?
Sales rose 4 percent in the first quarter, its first growth in two years.
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