Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), the coffee giant has been charging human batteries for some time but now it will do its best to take advantage of our interconnected lives and the poor battery life that limits millions of smartphones.
San Francisco for starters
Beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area, customers will be offered Duracell Powermats in order to wirelessly charge their phones while enjoying their coffee, scone or other offerings at their tables. The obvious caveat being you can’t properly use your phone when its on the pad. Heaven forbid that customers may be forced to pick up something physical to read as they await their phone’s charge.
Over the course of the next three years, the company plans to install 100,000 table-top chargers in 7,500 U.S. locations. Don’t worry we’ve done the math, it’s about a dozen per store.
“Starbucks believes this is another step in staying ahead of the curve when it comes to in-store technology,” says Adam Brotman, chief digital officer at Starbucks.
At $4″a cup”, Starbucks continues to look for new ways to appeal to its technology reliant and younger clientele. We now live in an era where smartphone battery life ranks high on the list of stress inducers.
Starbucks as tech company
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is a “tech-enabled gathering place,” says Jamie King, CEO of the ad agency Camp + King. “They are adding ‘smart’ to their original vision of the third place — now it’s a ‘smart third place.’ ”
Unfortunately, for millions, their smartphones don’t allow for wireless charging but with this move, Starbucks customers will presumably being looking for this functionality when they purchase their next phone. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is even debating the merits of selling phones that have this option to its customers.
“This move by Starbucks cuts the final cord of our lives — the power cord,” says Daniel Schreiber, president of (Duracell) Powermat Technologies. “It’s changing the way humanity interacts with power.”
No word was given by either Duracell or Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) on the financials of the partnership.
“Every business, whether it’s a coffee house, or an advertising agency, is in the technology business,” says Gerald Lewis, group creative director at the digital marketing specialty firm John McNeil Studio. “Starbucks, as a forward-looking brand, recognizes this.”
