When you’re full of Christmas cheer and desperate for a Peppermint Mocha, but can’t (or can’t be bothered to) get to Starbucks, what is a festive coffee addict to do? Pay way over the odds for an Uber Eats driver to bring it to you, of course!
In one of the most millennial-friendly alliances of recent times, Starbucks and Uber Eats have announced a partnership that’ll enable deliveries from around a quarter of the coffee chain’s U.S. stores. That’s over 2,000 locations.
The company has yet to list which stores will be flooded with Uber Eats drivers, but there seems a decent chance most towns and cities will have one of their stores involved in the scheme.
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For Starbucks addicts who don’t know their way around a coffee machine, the announcement is great news. However, considering the delivery fee can max out at $8, some customers could be paying more than double the cost of their drink for the privilege.
The company’s resolve to ‘meet customers where they are’ comes as foot traffic to its 8,000 US stores continues to dwindle. Orders through the baristas at the brick and mortar locations have dropped 10% in the last two years, while mobile and drive-thru orders have both risen.
As such, 80% of the company’s new locations have a drive-thru, reflecting there fact that more and more people want to take their drink on the go, rather than hang out at Starbucks and consume on the premises (via Business Insider).
The partnership comes into force early next year and follows trials in Miami and Tokyo over the course of the last year. Starbucks is already working on a similar initiatives with Alibada in China.
In a press release on Thursday, Starbucks wrote: “Leveraging learnings from its delivery experience in China, Starbucks sees further market opportunity with Starbucks Delivers. The company recently initiated pilots of Starbucks Delivers in both Tokyo and Miami with Uber Eats. Today, Starbucks announced plans to expand Starbucks Delivers to nearly a quarter of its U.S. company-operated stores in early 2019.”
Will you be summoning Uber Eats to bring Starbucks deliveries to your door? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
