Starbucks to Launch Mobile Ordering This Year

Coffee behemoth Starbucks is the latest company to get into the mobile ordering game. According to a press release, customers will be able to place orders "in advance of their visit" and pay for the drink via the Starbucks app. They can then pick up the drinks at a Starbucks location of their choice. The company hopes that it will become the "fastest and easiest" way for customers to get their coffee fix.

Bloomberg writes that the chain expects to roll out the feature to 150 stores in the Portland, Ore. area before the end of the year. Initially, only iPhone users will be able to use the feature, but when the national rollout occurs, Starbucks will bring mobile ordering to Android users as well. A spokesperson for Starbucks reveals that customers will "have to wait" around five minutes for their food and drinks once they've placed an order through the app.

Mobile payment startup Square also recently introduced a new feature to its app to help speed-up ordering times at coffee shops. Using the Square Order app, customers can pre-order and pay for coffee and food on their phones via store credit card information. When the customer is within a certain distance of the coffee shop, the cafe is alerted to begin making their order so that it's ready upon a customer's arrival.