Marketing

Starbucks to take delivery national early next year

The company is expanding its partnership with Uber Eats following a successful 11-market test.
Photograph courtesy of Starbucks Corp.

Starbucks is taking its delivery national.

The Seattle-based coffee giant, which has been quickly expanding its test of delivery, said this week that it plans to take that service nationwide by early next year.

The company is working with third-party service Uber Eats. The company said the plans follow an 11-market rollout that “demonstrated successful operational integration and received positive customer response.”

“Partnering with Uber Eats helps us take another step toward bringing Starbucks to customers wherever they are,” Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Roz Brewer said in a statement.

Starbucks currently delivers in Miami, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Houston and Dallas.

The company said it is working with Uber Eats to leverage “the expertise of the largest global delivery service outside of China.”

But it also views the service as a marketing strategy, potentially expanding its customer base “beyond those who currently include Starbucks as part of their morning or afternoon routines.”

Starbucks said the companies will work together on “innovation and technology integration” and will focus on packaging, in-store operations and a quick delivery window.

“Our customers are huge Starbucks fans and love being able to get their favorite items delivered with Uber Eats speed,” said Jason Droege, vice president of Uber Everything, in a statement.

Coffee chains have been generally slow to adapt to delivery, at least when compared with other fast-food chains, but have rapidly worked to make up ground more recently.

The Starbucks Delivers service is available on the Uber Eats app, which gives customers access to 95% of the chain’s menu. Customers can also customize their orders.

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