Starbucks China's mobile ordering feature to join four Alibaba apps

The move expects to reach up to nearly one billion users.

Starbucks China is introducing its mobile order and payment feature in four apps owned by multinational conglomerate Alibaba, according to a statement.

Chinese customers using “Starbucks Now” can order within Taobao, digital mapping and information provider Amap, local services app Koubei and Alipay.

The feature was previously only available on the coffee giant’s own app. The service is expected to enable Starbucks to tap into Alibaba’s digital economy’s user base of nearly 1 billion.

The move also builds on the strategic partnership entered into by Starbucks and Alibaba in 2018 where the latter’s Ele.me local services platform began to deliver Starbucks coffee.