Starbucks opening mobile pickup-only store format in NYC

Starbucks’ loyalty members will soon have a unique location to pick up their beverages New York City’s Penn Station.

In a brief post on its e-commerce site, Starbucks says it is introducing Starbucks Pickup, a streamlined store experience specifically designed for members of the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program who order and pay with its app. 

“This is unlike any Starbucks you’ve seen before—a space devoted entirely to mobile orders, with no obstacles standing between you and your coffee,” Starbucks says in the post.

To patronize the Starbucks Pickup store, customers will need to sign up for Starbucks Rewards, download the Starbucks app and use the mobile order and pay option. Before placing the order, customers will then select Pickup – Penn Plaza as their order location. 

When they arrive at the store, customers will find their name on the order status board. In-store baristas will be available to offer assistance if needed. No other types of orders can be placed.

Starbucks currently offers a similar mobile-focused store format in Beijing, China. Called Starbucks Now, it is designed to offer a streamlined experience for customers who have pre-ordered online and also for delivery drivers/riders who are picking up online orders. 

Starbucks Now features a dedicated area for pickup of Starbucks Delivers orders by drivers, while fulfilled online orders are placed in a secure in-wall system with a designated pickup portal associated with each order. Unlike Starbucks Pickup, Starbucks Now does have a limited product assortment for on-the-go orders placed inside the store.