Starbucks teamed up with Goldman Sachs to create a “pick up” service, rolling down the window to have coffee!

Recently, if you use Goddard navigation, it is likely to find a reminder that there are Starbucks “picking up” along the way. As long as you order in advance, you don’t need to get off the car when you arrive at the pickup point, and you can roll down the window to get a cup of coffee.
On March 21, Starbucks China and Goldman Sachs officially announced that the new retail channel jointly created by the two sides – “Feikuai · Street Shopping” service has officially been launched. As a result, the mystery of “street shopping” services has been unveiled.
It is reported that this function has been first launched in 100 Starbucks stores in Beijing, covering the main travel areas in Beijing. Nearly 50 stores in Shanghai have also joined the “street shopping” service. It is expected that in the next year, more than 1000 Starbucks stores nationwide will provide “street shopping” services.
What is the difference between “taking along the street” and traditional drive thru? Why did Starbucks choose to cooperate with Goldman Sachs? FBIF participated in a “Mobile on Wheels Launch”, took the lead in experiencing this new model, and chatted with Starbucks partners.
1、 Don’t get off the bus and “pick up” a Starbucks along the street
Starbucks China’s official WeChat depicts two real scenarios: “I really want to buy coffee, but where to park” and “I really want to buy coffee, but what about bringing cute pets?”?
Starbucks tells us that the inspiration for “taking along the street” comes from Starbucks’ insight into customer needs. More than once, during busy commuting hours or when a parking space cannot be found, customers will ask a partner to help bring their coffee to the roadside. Seeing customers’ desire to easily and conveniently drink a cup of coffee on the way, as well as the pain points of the complex traffic conditions in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the customized “pick up along the street” service for domestic consumers emerged as the times require.
In addition to convenient parking and pet friendliness, the convenience of “taking along the street” goes far beyond these. From the comments from Starbucks fans, it can also be seen that this feature has solved many people’s pain points, such as “moms who take their children on trips need this service too much”, “there is no need to go in and out between hot and cold in summer”
How to operate “taking along the street”? FBIF opened the Gaode Map and experienced it.
In the driving mode of the Gaode Map App, set the destination and navigation route, and click “Search Along the Road” to find the “Pick Up Along the Street” service icon entrance. After entering, Gaode Map will automatically recommend the most convenient navigation route and support the “Pick Up Along the Street” service for the store, that is, you can choose the appropriate Starbucks store along the way to place an order.
Compared to store purchases, the “pick up along the street” service will incur an additional service fee of 3 yuan. On the ordering page, consumers can also set the last three digits of the license plate number and color information of the pickup vehicle for identification by store partners, and it will be automatically filled in by default the second time it is used.
Consumers can receive real-time voice announcements of order updates on the way, and can pick up their coffee after arriving at “Pick up a meal along the street” with little waiting. From entering the meal pickup point to completing the meal pickup, it is expected to take no more than 3 minutes (based on yesterday’s experience, the actual meal pickup was completed in 10 seconds).
On the Starbucks side, how does “take along the street” work?
We have learned from Starbucks that Starbucks baristas in stores that support the “pick up” service will receive three system notifications when receiving a service order: the customer places the order, starts making, and starts delivering. While maintaining the quality of the coffee, it is also possible to arrive at the designated parking spot in advance and precisely to wait. This process is the result of continuous testing and optimization by Starbucks and Goldman Sachs.
How do you choose the appropriate “street shopping” location among the more than 6000 Starbucks stores across the country? Starbucks stated that through big data filtering and repeated monitoring, it was possible to identify stores suitable for opening “street shopping” services. In addition to considering operational efficiency, there are many factors to consider, such as a partner walking within three minutes, a short stop on the street, and the ability to cover the main travel range of customers.
Zhang Lingyun, Vice President of Digital Innovation in Starbucks China, said, “As a brand that continues to innovate, no matter how complex the scene is, we will strive to make it easy for urban people to have a cup of coffee. Even in large cities with traffic congestion and parking difficulties, or during the rush hour, Starbucks is willing to ‘take one more step’ for customers.”
Zhang Lingyun mentioned that “shopping along the street” is not only a manifestation of Starbucks’ digital and technological capabilities, but also hopes to establish more humanistic connections with customers beyond the “third space” through the empowerment of technology and the Internet.
“Picking up along the street” is a brand new experience designed with customers as the center. Customers in Beijing and Shanghai do not have to get off the bus even when they are in the rush hour and busy road sections. They can open the window to receive the coffee delivered by Starbucks partners (baristas), thereby obtaining a seamless integration between online and offline, and a highly customized and smooth experience.
In the future, the “take along the street” business will undergo more calculations and countless iterations based on operational results.
2、 What is the difference between “taking along the street” and Drive-thru?
The birth of “shopping along the street” also indicates that Starbucks’ “third space” will once again expand its boundaries, creating a new consumption scenario of “on the way” beyond “to the store” and “to the home”.
When it comes to picking up food along the street, we can think of the drive thru models of McDonald’s and KFC. So, what’s the difference between “taking along the street”?
Zhang Lingyun pointed out, “The ‘pick up’ service is compared to the traditional drive thru.” It is a leap forward innovation initiative. It not only has the convenience of a traditional drive-in car restaurant; Thanks to the precise geographical positioning and precise time estimation of Goldmap, it can achieve a smoother experience and save time, without the need for large-scale renovation of stores. “When our customers open their windows, they can hear the enthusiastic greetings of the barista and receive a cup of freshly made coffee, just as they experienced in the Starbucks store.”
It can be seen that “taking along the street” is not a copy of the American concept of Drive-thru, but is developed based on China’s traffic conditions and characteristics.
In the event of extreme weather or other conditions, Starbucks always prioritizes the safety and experience of its store partners and flexibly adjusts its “pick up” service.
During the sharing, Zhang Lingyun also mentioned the curbside service in the US market. Although the names are the same, there are significant differences in the core of the project. Combining its own transportation characteristics, the American market is more like “coffee fast service in parking spaces”, while the Chinese market is more accurate and flexible in “picking up” along the street. Coffee makers are willing to “take one step more” to be closer to customers, meeting everyone’s need for an easy and convenient cup of coffee.
“Taking along the street”, an innovative model born in China, has also received the attention and support of Starbucks headquarters. In the words of Zhang Lingyun, it is “headquarters partners watching Starbucks China’s exploration and expansion in the digital field with excitement.”.
3、 Starbucks x Goldman, a two-way trip
It is not an easy task to make it easier for “on the go” consumers to have a cup of coffee. Through the joint efforts of Starbucks and Goldman Sachs, the “take along the street” service has been realized.
On the one hand, relying on Starbucks’ high density store network and operational advantages, it can cover more audiences and ensure a sense of service experience. On the other hand, the core capabilities such as route planning, real-time traffic conditions, and accurate to minute level of Gaode Maps.
“When sharing, Zhang Lingyun said, ‘We thought of collaborating with a high-tech app, and perhaps there are ready-made technologies that can be implemented. The first time I talked to Gaode about this idea was actually two years ago, and everyone was very excited at that time.'”
But the launch of a new feature is also inseparable from the timing, location, and harmony of people. For an innovative service that requires linkage between online and offline, and has a low fault tolerance rate, there are bound to be many difficulties.
Zhang Lingyun shared, “The project of ‘taking along the street’ has encountered great challenges at every stage, as it is a new attempt that has never been done before. What impressed me most is that I spoke to the general manager of regional operations about this matter. I thought the challenge was very big, but they said to me, although it is difficult and I don’t know what to do at the moment, you can rest assured that we will definitely support you.”
Zhang Lingyun defined the cooperation between Starbucks and Goldman Sachs as a “two-way journey”.
Zhang Lingyun mentioned that taking a taxi and taking out have become a part of people’s daily habits, but back to five or six years ago, the takeout platform spent a lot of time and capital to cultivate consumer habits. Relying on Goldman Sachs’ strong ETA technology capabilities and user traffic pool, Starbucks can further expand the coverage of consumer groups.
In the local life sector, Gaode has significant advantages in “data empowerment” and other aspects. Since 2014, Gaode has been focusing on travel services. According to Alibaba’s financial report, by June 2022, its daily active users had exceeded 120 million, making it the current map platform with the largest market share.https://www.stoneitech.com/
For Gaode, “taking along the street” has also “laid a foundation” for the expansion of its local services. With the gradual disappearance of the demographic dividend of mobile internet, the combination of online and offline scenarios has become a source of business growth for giants. As a result, the battle for new retail sales began to burn into the local living sector.
As a digital map and navigation service provider under Alibaba, Gaode has not been satisfied with using “map+navigation” to absorb traffic in recent years, and users can use it as soon as they use it. In February 2023, Alibaba announced that it would merge the Hungry Mai business under the life service sector into Gaode, aiming to “strengthen local life.”.
In 2018, Starbucks and Alibaba Group formed a strategic partnership, and “taking along the street” is a manifestation of further in-depth cooperation between the two.