Starbucks and Ala Baba have to fully get through the membership system and copy the takeout experience and go back to the United States.

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Recently, it has just been reported that Luckin Coffee has completed a $200 million round of financing, a pair of continue to "burn money subsidies", with the posture of hurting people, going straight to the industry giant Starbucks. In the face of the aggressiveness of the "Little Blue Cup", Starbucks reacted quickly, continuing to hold on to Alibaba while copying the takeout experience back to the US market.

Alibaba and Starbucks officially announced the launch of new online retail stores on December 14, while Starbucks membership system and Alibaba Ecology will be fully opened. Alibaba announced today that it will open its first virtual store and open the membership system of both sides by applying Starbucks' technology, the first time Starbucks has opened its fully integrated ecosystem to third-party brands. Consumers can enjoy an one-stop digital Starbucks experience in Starbucks and Alibaba Ecology, including applications such as Taobao and Alipay (APP), in a seamless and easy-to-use way, and the next step will be to connect to Tmall APP.

According to Alibaba, search for "Starbucks" or "say with stars" on Taobao or Alipay to enter the interface of online stores. Whether you open Starbucks App, Taobao App or Alipay App, you can scan the code to complete payment and Starbucks card points without having to jump to App.

The launch of Starbucks' new virtual store is based on the cooperation with Alibaba in August 2018. The two sides have reached cooperation on new retail and, through China's leading takeout platform ele.me, provide delivery services to 2000 Starbucks stores in 30 cities in mainland China.

Alibaba helps Starbucks create "the fourth online Space"

Ye Guohui, general manager of Alibaba's new retail platform, said: "as the main force of new retail and the main position of brand digital transformation, Tmall will bring stronger help to global brands with the evolution of Alibaba operating system." help brands achieve digital upgrading with deep online and offline integration, and will also work with Starbucks to explore the future of new retail and improve business efficiency. Bring better service experience to consumers. "

More and more young people are drinking coffee instead of carbonated drinks. By 2025, China's coffee drinks will reach a trillion yuan market. Starbucks now has 7 million users, but it still has great potential for development. Other assets deposited in Alibaba's commercial operating system can help Starbucks give more exclusive and customized benefits to the growing "Starbucks Club" members, and will also attract more and more people to join this unique membership experience. let Starbucks finally create its own "online fourth space" for each member in the future.

For the cooperation between the two sides, Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong once said, "Coffee is definitely not just a cup of coffee, but a way of life and experience economy." This is why Ali is able to put out the core resources of the entire group business and carry out strategic cooperation with Starbucks. "

Starbucks will copy takeout model to the US market

Starbucks also recently announced a partnership with UberEats to provide coffee takeout in 2000 of its 8500 stores in the United States.

The delivery service, known as "special star delivery", has been tested in Miami, Tokyo and a few Chinese cities since September, and Starbucks said it would expand to at least seven US metropolitan areas from next year (2019).

Starbucks pointed out that it has learned the experience of take-away coffee in the Chinese market, including spill-proof cup lids, tamper-proof packaging seals, shipping containers and professional dispensers for hot and cold drinks, and now wants to replicate this experience to the United States to cooperate with UberEats.

However, in the face of almost five times the labor costs of American takeout in China, it remains to be seen whether Starbucks can build a distribution network as efficient as China.

China is Starbucks' fastest-growing market, but it is facing increasingly fierce competition. Including the popular "Little Blue Cup" Luckin Coffee and the rapidly rising "even Coffee" are threatening Starbucks' position in China, which is one of the reasons why Starbucks chose to join hands with Alibaba in August this year.

The cooperation project between Alibaba and Starbucks not only involves takeout services, but also fully connects the membership systems of both sides. This means that consumers can enjoy the same membership rights and services in Alibaba's Taobao, Tmall, Alipay, Box Horse, ele.me and Starbucks applications, and formally move towards digital operation.

China is Starbucks' fastest growing market in the world, maintaining a growth rate of 3 to 5 per cent every year, so it is expected to increase its physical stores to 6000, covering 230cities, within four years, Starbucks officials said on the 13th. continue to penetrate the Chinese market.

Photo source: Alibaba, Starbucks

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