aNewDomain — Starbucks, whether you love it or hate it, is the king of coffee these days. Part of that is due to the quality of its beverages, and part of it is the company’s multi-pronged approach to business. Starbucks pioneered gamification in the beverage industry, and Starbucks for Android is its dedicated, functional app. Here’s why I’m selecting it as our featured app of the day.
Personalized
Part of the Starbucks model is making each customer feel unique — thus the names on the cups and special drink orders. The app furthers this, allowing each customer to have a unique login name, which can be tied to a digital Starbucks card. For each purchase you receive a digital star that fills a digital cup, which you can turn in for rewards.
The app makes paying convenient, too. You load your card, tap “Pay” and scan the auto-generated barcode. You can digitally tip now, which is a boon for baristas everywhere. You can even send gift cards to other app users.
Worldly
In my varied travels I have found that Starbucks is a solid, familiar place in foreign lands. The app can help you find a location wherever you are — like Paris or Berlin — and the free in-store Wi-Fi will help you find that next museum.
With that said, you might have some trouble with the login process. Occasionally the updates for the app contain bugs, which is never fun. My advice? Write down your password. You may have to uninstall the app and reinstall from scratch, but your card always has the correct amount of money on it, which is the most important thing.
If you already drink at Starbucks the app is a must-have — you’ll end up with a couple free drinks and a seamless purchase experience. Best of all, it’s free. You can find it on Google Play for Android and Apple iOS.
For BMod, I’m Daniel Zweier.
All screenshots: Daniel Zweier courtesy of Google Play
Featured image: Starbucks Coffee by Rudolf Schuba via Flickr
