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Although the release of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is now considered a major signifier of the return of autumn, this year Starbucks brought the popular seasonal drink back earlier than they ever have in the past.
“The Pumpkin Spice Latte is a beverage that Starbucks customers wait for with anticipation all year, so we were excited to give our fans the opportunity to get their fall fix a little earlier,” a Starbucks representative told NRN.
But was the Aug. 27 release date — before Labor Day — of the iconic PSL to Starbucks’ advantage? According to traffic data from Placer.ai, a technology company that uses smartphone tracking data to produce data analytics, the foot traffic on the Tuesday launch date actually saw some of the lowest foot traffic during the month of August for Starbucks.
The positive effects from launching the Pumpkin Spice Latte earlier than ever were not actually seen until the following weekend. According to Placer.ai, Starbucks usually sees its strongest traffic numbers on the weekends, and the weekend following the early release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte last month was the strongest for the month of August.
“The big takeaway seems to be that it isn't better than other dates, it's just an opportunity to extend Starbucks' period of strength,” a representative from Placer.ai said. “The summer isn't the ideal time for a hot drink, but by introducing the PSL earlier and earlier they are just enhancing their ability to drive interest. It is yet another example of the company's unique ability to own the calendar.”
Starbucks Japan just launched its Touch pen technology: the latest in a line of products with contactless payment capability. Like Starbucks customers who use their mobile app, users in Japan can tap the special Starbucks pen (which also can write like a regular ballpoint pen with “coffee brown” ink) onto the register to pay for their item, which is linked to a virtual wallet and is powered by Japan’s FeliCa contactless card technology.
The Starbucks pen — designed by Japanese designer Andu Amet with inspiraton from coffee brewing equipment — comes in three colors and will be available starting July 24 for a limited time for 4,000 yen (around $37 USD), which comes pre-loaded with 1,000 yen. It’s linked with Japan’s FeliCa contactless card technology and acts as a virtual Starbucks card.
Other past products in the Starbucks Japan Touch line include “The Hug”: a miniature bag made by local craftsmen with Ethiopian sheepskin, and a cell phone case made to look like a Starbucks cup called “The Cup.”
Starbucks did not respond to requests for more details in time for publication.
After launching voice ordering capability in the United States in 2017 through Amazon Alexa, Starbucks is bringing voice ordering to China in partnership with their delivery partners e-commerce company, Alibaba and food delivery platform, Ele.me.
Similar to how American Starbucks customers can order Starbucks through Alexa, customers in China will be able to order through the Alibaba smart speaker, Tmall Genie. The voice ordering platform adds more features like delivery tracking or the 30-minutes-or-less deliveries, and will let customers check their membership status, earn rewards, and “receive personalized recommendations” from Tmall Genie based on their Starbucks ordering history.
Customers can also purchase a green Starbucks-themed Tmall Genie with a teddy bear barista on top through the Starbucks virtual store in China.
As we reported earlier this month, Starbucks is launching a pick-up centric café for busy Starbucks fans that focuses on serving mobile ordering and pick-up customers. The small scale café will be reminiscent of the express store format called Starbucks Now that was unveiled in Beijing, China in July and is designed to cut down on customer wait time.
When CEO Kevin Johnson first announced the new store format at the Chicago Leadership Experience in Chicago, we knew that it was going to be opening at an unspecified time somewhere in New York. Now, Starbucks has confirmed that the store will be opening in Penn Plaza near New York City’s Penn Station: a central transportation hub for New York commuters. Starbucks has not separately clarified this information.
Following the opening of the first Starbuck Now store, the company plans to open other locations in major cities like Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
“What we’re using Starbucks Now for, and what will be Starbucks pick-up stores in the U.S., is to blend them in where we have dense urban areas where we have a lot of Starbucks third-place cafes,” Johnson told Bloomberg during the Chicago Leadership Experience conference.
