Report: Starbucks Is Now Testing Curbside Pickup

Image courtesy of ronnyg

If you’re the kind of person who would rather fall asleep at your desk than venture inside a Starbucks during rush hour, avoiding the crush inside the store could change everything about your morning routine. To that end, the Seattle-based chain is testing curbside pickup.

Because not every Starbucks location includes a drive-thru lane, the company is testing the new system at one store in Snoqualmie, WA, Business Insider reports, citing a recent research note from Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski.

“Customers using the Starbucks mobile app to order and pay (apparently for this store only) can choose to have their order delivered to them curbside by a barista, so that they don’t even have to get out of their car to get their order,” he writes, adding that it’d be interesting to see if Starbucks expands the test elsewhere.

That’s not happening — at least not in the foreseeable future.

“This is a limited-time test occurring at only one store in Snoqualmie, WA,” a Starbucks spokeswoman told Consumerist via email. “We do not have any plans to expand to other stores.”

Other retailers have been trying out curbside pickup these days, with varying levels of success: in June, Target said it would be putting the kibosh on its pilot program.

Starbucks is testing an entirely new way to bring you your iced latte [Business Insider]

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