Brace yourselves, Starbucks lovers—2025 is brewing up a mobile ordering update, and it might not be your cup of tea. The coffee giant is rolling out a new algorithm to streamline how baristas handle mobile orders, per Business Insider. This update aims to minimize abandoned orders and improve store efficiency by preventing workflow slowdowns.
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Starbucks is also reducing the maximum number of items customers can order online from 15 to 12, the company confirmed to Today.
Starbucks app and website users will soon face restrictions on making specific customizations, too. Beverage lovers can no longer customize a classic Refresher with a splash of milk or lemonade, and the option to order a caffè americano without water has also been discontinued.
Starbucks revealed that nearly 75% of customized beverages include fewer than three modifications, emphasizing that personalization is far from disappearing. Customers can still tailor their drinks with options like cold foam or syrups for an Americano, among other choices available through the app.
The popular coffee joint is reportedly introducing these changes to streamline wait times and ease the workload for servers.
Starbucks’ CEO Recently Hinted at the Mobile Ordering Changes
These remarks echo those of Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who noted that mobile ordering has “chipped away” at the essence of the brand.
In a podcast interview earlier this month with Bob Safian, host of Rapid Response, Niccol hinted at upcoming changes to mobile ordering.
“I think one of the things that veered Starbucks a little bit off was the whole mobile ordering, the COVID situation,” Niccol told Safian.
Niccol noted that he believes mobile orders have impacted the personal “connection” Starbucks shares with its customers. He explained that staff now rely on printed labels instead of writing directly on the cups, a small but meaningful change.
Niccol explained that the company prioritized removing seconds from the process rather than preserving the “experience and the connection” for customers.
He also pointed out that Starbucks locations had no control over the volume of mobile orders they received, which created significant pressure on baristas to prioritize efficiency and “get drinks out the door” rather than fostering meaningful connections with customers.
Niccol noted that mobile-ordered drinks often sat on the counter for six to eight minutes on average, resulting in customers receiving a product that wasn’t at its best.
“It’s been sitting there, and then usually what happens is you ask our barista to remake it,” he explained.