How much would you pay to get your iced caramel mocha skinny latte delivered to your office while your booty stays planted in your chair? Starbucks is guessing about six bucks.
Starbucks Begins Offering Delivery, but the Fee Will Cost More Than a Coffee
The $5.99 delivery fee is likely too high for most sane people ordering a single beverage.
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Jason Del Rey has been a business journalist for 15 years and has covered Amazon, Walmart, and the e-commerce industry for the last decade. He was a senior correspondent at Vox.
The national coffee chain will start offering a delivery option through its app in select Seattle neighborhoods on Wednesday, though the service will come with a $5.99 delivery fee, plus tip. The high cost is likely too steep for most sane people ordering a single beverage, but could be palatable to co-workers requesting multiple drinks in a single order.
The pilot test, which will be operated by delivery startup Postmates, will be available first in the Downtown, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, Madison Park and SoDo neighborhoods of Seattle. South Lake Union happens to be where Amazon’s large campus sits, while SoDo is home to Starbucks headquarters. The launch is happening just as other big food and beverage chains McDonald’s and Chipotle are beginning to offer delivery for the first time, also in partnership with Postmates.
Starbucks fans who don’t live in these neighborhoods can still get Starbucks delivery, but through Postmates’ own app, which means the purchase won’t count toward the Starbucks loyalty rewards program. Postmates charges $5 or more for delivery on these orders based on distance, plus a 9 percent service fee.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
