Starbucks is far larger than most cafés, but one number shows what an ordering app can do: 33% of its US orders come through the app. The ideas behind that number scale down.
Ordering ahead removes friction
Customers who can order and pay before they arrive skip the queue and the decision made under pressure. For the café, orders arrive in an orderly stream instead of a rush at the counter.
Saved favourites matter as much as speed. A repeat customer can reorder in a couple of taps.
Loyalty gives a reason to come back
A simple points or stamp scheme inside the same app means every order builds towards something. It also tells the business who its regulars are and what they like.
Keep the reward easy to understand. A scheme customers cannot explain to a friend is not working.
What a smaller place can take from it
A local restaurant does not need a flagship app to benefit. A branded ordering page with saved orders and a basic loyalty scheme captures most of the value.
Own the customer relationship where you can: your own channel keeps the customer’s details and avoids paying a commission on every repeat order.
Start with the busiest hour
Pick the time of day when queues are longest and put ordering ahead in front of it first. Measure how many orders arrive that way and how the queue changes.
Once the habit forms in one slot, extend it to the rest of the day.
- 33% of Starbucks US orders come through its app.
- Ordering ahead and saved favourites remove friction.
- Loyalty rewards should be simple enough to explain in a sentence.
- Start with the busiest hour, then grow.
