Starbucks earlier this week announced they are launching a new way of paying for their caffeinated drinks through the use of our smartphones, such as the iphone and blackberry devices. ( Mobile Payments ) These types of transactions are known as mobile payments and I don't quite understand all the hype surrounding it. Starbucks claims that these type of transactions are faster than regular cash & credit transactions but I do not see how it is a faster transaction for the consumer. I would first have to download the proper app for my smartphone, in this instance the Starbucks app. Then I would have to create an account with them and either link my debit/credit card to the account or purchase a Starbucks gift card and dump that into the Starbucks account. I have to do all of this before going to Starbucks just to purchase some coffee or tea? How about I just go to Starbucks and pay with cash or my debit card to make my life easier. I know we all take our phones with us everywhere we go, but we also take our wallets everywhere we go...
Another concern with Mobile Payments is the security of lack of security currently found within the software of our smartphones. With smartphones now acting like wallets that are linked to our checking accounts hackers are going where the money is. In 2010 attacks on android smartphones quadrupled and attacks on java based smartphones were up 50%. (Attacks on Smartphones ) Until the software on our smartphones are updated to better deal with their current security flaws I for one will not be using my smartphone to make payments for anything. Smartphones putting consumers at risk
I think that Starbucks will benefit from the app, not from the convenience of the consumer standpoint, but for the marketing behind it. Lets face it, if you have a Starbucks icon in your cellphone all day, there is a high chance that it might influence in your next purchase decision for coffee.
ReplyDeleteI agree with E.S. in that the simple exposure will benefit Starbucks. The prediction in my article states that by the end of this year 1 in 2 Americans will have a smart phone, and a solid amount of them probably drink coffee. If you are playing with your phone and scroll down and see the cool new Starbucks app, Starbucks will at least be an option for you to go and get coffee from in your head. Good article.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. This starbucks application is just an influential way to buy their product. It will draw a lot of people to become starbucks consumers by easily influencing them to buy. People forget that we live in a world where information is not just vital to our living, but is also the basis for the productive economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments. The negative and downside of this feature is the security aspect, but i do believe there is a definite solution to such a problem, and that it should not discourage development of this genre of mobile activity. Security issues will always be there, even in our banking, they exist. One will always have to maintain caution, and developers must seek to reduce the possibility of such security breaches.
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