#STARBUCKS DRIVE THRU LOCATIONS HOW TO#

The team would track and measure the results, and convey the outcomes and establish “proof of the need” by using “the language of top management,” which is the language of money. The plan was to make initial improvements at some existing drive-thru locations to bring them up to best practice. In order to gain the support and financial backing needed from top management, the improvement team had to clearly and convincingly demonstrate that the drive-thru was important to the growth of the brand. This obstacle led to a critical opportunity in the team’s roadmap to success. So there was a cultural barrier that stood squarely in the way of investing in significant improvements. The feeling was that the drive-thru projected an image of fast food, and “that’s not Starbucks” (even though the brand is fast casual). The C-suite was not yet very interested in the drive-thru. If Starbucks could then go beyond just catching up to best practices, the team felt confident this would be a significant growth strategy for the company.īut there was a very big obstacle in the way of making meaningful progress.

Any improvements that would get them closer to best practices seemed certain to result in beneficial business improvement. The team knew there were immediate improvement opportunities just waiting to be addressed.

#STARBUCKS DRIVE THRU LOCATIONS HOW TO#

So the prospect of growing this side of the business was enticing.Ī cross-functional improvement team (including marketing, technology, operations, store design and development) was organized to start thinking about how to continue to grow the drive-thru business and make it even more profitable. And those 40 percent were driving more than half of the brand’s cash contribution. There were over 2,400 stores with drive-thru, which represented 40 percent of its portfolio. However, at the drive-thru, these customer touch points were virtually nonexistent.īy 2010, Starbucks management started to take a hard look at the drive-thru. On top of this, the interior experience includes face-to-face interaction with the barista, music, décor, and aromas.

Plus, there’s a seductive pastry case beckoning trial. There are promotional banners and window clings at the entry, suggestive-selling messaging prior to the order point. In contrast, Starbucks’ in-store experience relies heavily on having multiple touch points along the customer’s path to purchase. It recognized the company had not looked at the drive-thru experience through the lens of the customer. Starbucks knew its drive-thru was below best-practice. And in doing so, share with readers a roadmap to kick-start your brand’s drive-thru. So, in this article we reveal the “secrets” of Starbucks’ success. And it’s going to anchor growth, especially in suburban markets, moving forward.īut none of the previous articles spelled out all of the things that came together to realize these results. Just recently, the brand announced drive-thru drove more than 50 percent of net sales in the second quarter, increasing north of 10 percent from pre-pandemic levels. You might even say it earned top-billing status at the drive-thru. Clearly, Starbucks is doing many things right. After all, in less than a decade, Starbucks’ drive-thru rapidly morphed from a run-of-the-mill, vanilla customer experience, to a finely tuned, high-quality, brand-proprietary drive-thru that has generated millions upon millions for the chain. There’s been a lot written about Starbucks’ drive-thrus.

Starbucks drive thru locations