Dec. 14, 2018
Starbucks opened its first-ever virtual Starbucks store Thursday in China as part of the coffee chain's previously announced partnership with e-commerce retailer Alibaba, according to a company release.
Starbucks said the virtual store will allow customers to have a one-touch Starbucks experience, using the Starbucks mobile app and Alibaba's customer-facing mobile apps, including Taobao, Tmall and Alipay.
The virtual store was developed through an online management hub in order to integrate Starbucks Delivers, Say it with Starbucks social gifting and the Starbucks Tmall flagship store.
Customers can buy digital beverage gift cards as well as physical Starbucks gifts, including merchandise from the Starbucks Tmall flagship store. They can also get a handcrafted Starbucks beverage within a half hour through Alibaba's Ele.me delivery service.
Starbucks and Alibaba originally launched the strategic partnership in August.
Customers may earn Starbucks Rewards points. Starbucks and Alibaba have a combined 670 million mobile active users.
Topics: Loyalty Programs, Mobile Payments, Region: APAC, Restaurants, Retail
Companies: Alibaba, Alipay, Starbucks
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