Starbucks Testing Smartphone Service

Starbucks Corp. (Seattle) will test a smartphone service this year that lets customers order items ahead of time at some U.S. locations.

The coffee retailer is reportedly eager to promote its mobile application.

Starbucks is “actively working” on mobile ordering, chief digital officer Adam Brotman told Bloomberg News. The move would let customers select coffee or food while in line or even before coming into a café. “It’s something our customers have asked for,” Brotman said. “We’re not revealing a lot of details about it now.”

Bloomberg said that Starbucks, which processes 5 million mobile transactions a week, has been focused on expanding and improving its rewards program and mobile apps to help boost sales. Last month, ceo Howard Schultz handed over day-to-day operations to his chief operating officer, Troy Alstead, so he could focus on what he called “next-generation” retail, digital and mobile payments, the company’s loyalty program and electronic commerce.

Schultz is “working directly on all of the mobile plans and vision we are putting together,” Brotman said. “He’s very involved.”

On March 19, the company will update its iPhone app to include barista tipping and a new shake-to-pay function. More than 11 percent of the company’s U.S. store transactions are handled with a mobile device, and that figure may double a year from now, said Brotman.