Through Starbucks' (SBUX 0.29%) idea-generating website MyStarbucksIdea.com, customers are able to give the company suggestions for where it can make improvements, or what they would like to see in the future. The most frequently suggested change was allowing customers to tip their baristas directly through the mobile app, which a lot of customers have been using. Now, the company has announced that it has added this feature to the iPhone mobile app, allowing users to tip the barista $0.50, $1, or $2.
In this video, Motley Fool consumer goods analyst Mark Reeth sits down to talk Starbucks with host Mike Finarelli, and point to some of the ways that the company's mobile app is shaping the way consumers interact with the business. With 5 million transactions being made via the app every week, Starbucks is now seeing 11% of its transactions coming in through the mobile app. This will only continue to grow if Starbucks continues to keep a pulse on what consumers want.
Is Starbucks a buy today? Mark thinks so. Besides its successful mobile presence, he loves the company's innovation overall. As it pushes further internationally and explores new product categories, such as tea with its Teavana acquisition, or the integration of the La Boulange food items to try and become part of consumers' lunch routines, Mark sees the mobile app as just icing on the cake.
