Starbucks plans kiosks to cut long lines at airport locations

[CHICAGO] Starbucks is working on adding ordering kiosks to busy locations in the US that cater to on-the-go customers.

The Seattle-based coffee chain has been exploring how to shorten lines at high-traffic places such as airports, chief operating officer Mike Grams said in an internal meeting this week, according to a recording reviewed by Bloomberg News. Snaking queues of caffeine-deprived travellers are a common sight at terminals around the US.

“Kiosks is one of those options that is a big priority for quarter four,” he said, referring to the company’s fiscal period that runs to late September.

The kiosks will likely go into select licensed locations, run by third parties that have an agreement with the company, that cater to people on the go. Baristas will still greet customers and hand their orders directly to them at stores with kiosks.

The setup of licensed stores varies, with some featuring seating while others do not. These locations, which are often inside airports, grocery stores, universities and hospitals, account for about 40 per cent of the chain’s more than 17,000 US locations.

Starbucks announced in 2022 that it would introduce mobile ordering at airports, which mostly serve customers looking to get their drinks quickly as they make their way to their gates. Touchscreens allowing customers to place orders directly have proliferated at restaurants, including airport locations of chains such as McDonald’s.

“Customer and partner feedback is fuelling rapid innovation across every Starbucks experience,” the company said in a statement, using its terminology for workers.

Starbucks directly runs more than 10,000 locations in the US. Chief executive officer Brian Niccol’s team is working to make these company-operated stores more welcoming by adding more comfortable seating, more outlets for charging devices and creating a cosier atmosphere.

The overall strategy to reverse a prolonged sales slump also focuses on fostering more interactions between baristas and customers. The company is phasing out a pickup-only store format without seating that required customers to order on the app.

The ordering kiosks would not go into traditional company-operated locations, Grams said, where people are more likely to consume their beverages on site and hang out. “But for those speedy, time-sensitive customers that are going through, it’s a big one,” Grams said.

The company’s shares declined 2.3 per cent this year to Thursday’s close, lagging the 7.8 per cent rise in the S&P 500 Index. BLOOMBERG