Channeling Starbucks’ Best Practices for Retail

Starbucks has proven itself to be a leader in revolutionizing the retail industry. Their mobile app, specifically, was the first of its kind to boast such high adoption rates and be embraced so thoroughly by the public. Their mobile transactions constitute a staggering 27 percent of all in-store purchases, which is far beyond the rest of the country in adoption rates.

What is Starbucks’ secret to success? It is the fact that they can meet several, very integral needs of their consumers, and deliver upon those in an outstanding manner. Any retail business can fulfill these needs as well, thereby driving profit, success, and customer retention.

There are four predominant needs that retail customers seek fulfillment of:

The Need for Incentives

Every retail program should consider creating a customer loyalty program with incentives that customers value. Starbucks awards stars for every purchase, and stars accumulate for rewards and free drinks.

Retail stores need to assess what their particular customer base will appreciate and what they can provide to them at the lowest cost. Options include exclusive coupon codes, a special checkout desk, or a free gift based on spending.  Creating a program that keeps them coming back for more is essential to customer retention rates and your overall business success.

The Need for Simplicity

Customers appreciate straightforward simplicity. Overcomplicating matters, especially when it comes to checkout and payments can result in lost sales. Consumers appreciate the simplicity of the Starbucks app and the intuitive interface for in-store checkout. A retail merchant can easily emulate that by providing a streamlined payment process, that accepts all major forms of payment and staff that are knowledgeable in implementation.

The Need for Mobile

In today’s fast-paced society, customers are looking for on-the-go options. While Starbucks does not deliver just yet, it offers in-store pickup options for orders placed through its app. Nearly every retail store can emulate this by using a POS system that allows for mobile ordering, especially restaurants and food service industry members. For those that logistically cannot support a mobile POS system, a payment gateway can be implemented for placing orders on the go.

The Need for Speed

Overall, customers expect to have the highest level of service in the shortest amount of time. While some industries allow for a little for more leeway in terms of order fulfillment time, no customer wants to waste extra time during the checkout portion of the shopping experience. It all comes down to knowledge: ensuring that your payments provider is keeping you up to date on the latest industries trends and technologies, and making sure that your staff is aware of changes in the payments climate.

Fidelity Payment Services has 21 years of industry experience, which give us the confidence to guarantee that our merchants will receive the very best in payments technology. Our customer loyalty framework is top-tier, and our advanced technology keeps payments simple, mobile and fast. From a payments perspective, we’ll ensure that your customers are satisfied and keep coming back for more.

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions about how we can implement retail’s best practices at your business.