A Commuter's Dream Come True: Starbucks Debuts Its First Mobile Order-Only Pickup Store

The last thing most commuters want to do is stand in a 15-minute line with crazed coffee cravers to buy a cup of coffee or wait in the drive-thru to find out their iced caramel macchiato was made with vanilla. #Struggles, am I right? Starbucks has changed the game for its loyal mobile app users by introducing its first mobile order-only pickup store in New York City’s Penn Plaza on November 5, according to QSR.

Starbucks’s first pick-up store is just one of the innovative ways in which the coffee chain is adhering to today’s food delivery and pickup trends and “modernizing and reimagining the customer experience in high-traffic, metropolitan areas,” according to the article. Unlike the Starbucks’s brick-and-mortar locations, the pickup store will primarily serve customers who place their order through the Mobile Order & Pay on the Starbucks mobile app. Upon arriving at the Penn Plaza, customers can see live updates on the digital status board.

“Our customers who are on-the-go have told us that connection and convenience are important to them,” said Starbucks Vice President of Urban Markets Katie Young. “By designing a store specifically for the mobile order occasion, we can deliver both for these customers using the store’s design, location and the expertise of our baristas.”

McDonald’s has also introduced a similar option for commuters who are constantly on-the-go. The fast food chain’s to-go-only location, which recently opened in NYC’s Time Square, allows customers to order their food and carry on with their day without the wait.

Local New Yorkers: If you don’t currently use the mobile app, you may want to start.

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