Why Starbucks is spending even more to improve its mobile app



The opposite of this (kind of hilarious picture) is true...

Business Insider reports on Mobile and Mobile App marketing.

Starbucks has put significant effort into its mobile app, and that strategy has paid off in spades...

The company plans to increase spending on mobile in 2016 after great success with its app in 2015, according to Bloomberg. By the end of last year, 21% of all transactions at Starbucks in the U.S. occurred through the mobile app. This has positioned the app as one of Starbucks' core business strategy.




The coffee giant debuted its app in 2011 and at the time, the company used the QR-code based app mostly as a loyalty card that gave rewards (such as a free drink) to customers who used it. But in the last few years, the app has grown to become a full experience through which users can order and pay. Starbucks also sends messages that have promotional offers within the app.

The success of this app shows how effective in-app messaging can increase a company's overall revenue. Recent data from Salesforce indicates that in-app marketing is starting to become a core strategy for many businesses.

In 2016, 54% of marketers said they used mobile apps for marketing, up from approximately 27% in 2014 for a year-over-year growth of 98%. An additional 20% said they intend to use apps for marketing within the next 12 months. Finally, 77% said they noted tangible ROI from mobile marketing, up almost 150% since 2015.

Starbucks also plans to begin implementing new mobile strategies targeting more purchases within the app. These strategies include recommendations of more purchases to customers in a way similar to how Netflix recommends TV shows and movies to users based on their histories and tastes.

This approach could increase Starbucks customers' individual purchases by up to 50%, according to Crone data cited by Bloomberg.