“Starbucks’ fiscal 2015 is now in the books and besides strong same store sales and record revenue and earnings, the biggest takeaway is that the company’s digital efforts are generating stunning returns,” says Larry Dignan in a ZDNet piece this week.
Dignan — who calls Starbucks “a digital innovation machine” — thinks enterprises everywhere need to take notice.
What’s Starbucks doing that’s so brilliant?
“The company’s Mobile Order and Pay rollout have juiced sales,” notes Dignan. “Its apps are driving sales velocity and technology partnerships are bolstering the vibe in Starbucks’ locations.”
The fiscal 2015 numbers are impressive, especially considering the state of the economy. America’s comparable stores were up 7 percent due to a 3 percent increase in traffic. China and Asia Pacific comp sales were up 9 percent. Revenue for the year surged 17 percent to $19.2 billion as $3.6 billion flowed to the bottom line.
CEO Howard Schultz said on Starbucks’ fourth quarter earnings conference call:
“By anticipating and beginning to invest many years ahead of the mobile technology curve, Starbucks today is defining customer-facing and apartment-facing mobile and retail experiences of the future,” said CEO Howard Schultz during the earnings call. “And the technology innovations we are introducing are further strengthening our brand, improving our efficiency and in-store execution, increasing our profitability, enabling us to further extend our lead over competitors, and, most importantly, enabling us to deliver an elevated Starbucks experience to our customers.”
Mobile and digital, it turns out, go great with coffee.
“Add it up and mobile payment now accounts for 21 percent of all transactions at Starbucks,” Dignan notes. “Starbucks’ loyalty program, My Starbucks Rewards, has more than 20 million members around the world.”
There’s more to glean from the whole article. It’s a good wake up call — kind of like that Starbucks coffee millions line up for every morning. To check it out, click here.
