Starbucks has ordered up a venti
cup of AR to make the visit more interactive. The company's new Reserve
Roastery in Shanghai, will be the first Starbucks location to employ AR powered
by Alibaba Group's scene recognition platform to integrate the on-site and
online customer experiences. Shoppers can point the cameras of their mobile
devices at points of interest and use the Roastery's web app or Alibaba's
Taobao app to access AR content about Starbucks and coffee.
The AR platform also provides a
digital menu that displays details of the coffee bars, brewing techniques, and
more. Access to the experience is more convenient for users of the Taobao app.
Using its location-tracking feature, the app notices when users enter the
location, and then serves up site content. Moreover, Starbucks has added an
element of gamification to the experience, challenging customers to collect
digital badges and earn a custom Roastery filter.
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