Starbucks is piloting Amazon One, Amazon’s biometric payment system, in Seattle.
Specifically, the trial is currently taking place in Edmonds, Washington, which is north of Seattle. And the average customer is roughly 45-years-old, “approximately 10 years older than the average Seattle resident,” Forbes reports.
There’s a reason why the coffee giant is testing out this new contactless way to pay at this particular location. Older consumers—unlike their younger cohorts—are less likely to gravitate towards payment methods they may not be familiar with, such as biometrics.
According to Forbes, Starbucks employees in Edmonds, Washington, are seeing as much. Initial reactions to the palm payment system have been met with uncertainty from older consumers, with overall sentiment around the system being mixed.
Palm to Pay
Understandably, asking consumers to pay with their palm—especially when many just got used to paying with their mobile device—can be a difficult thing to grasp. But the acceleration of biometrics, the potential it has to make an impact in the payments space, and the investment retailers and brands are making in the technology, also points to the fact that biometric payment systems aren’t going away.
With any type of payment method, there’s always a learning curve. Through Amazon One, Amazon aims to streamline the process so when consumers get to the kiosk to pay for their goods, it’s as convenient as possible. Consumers are first encouraged to sign-up for the system either by enrolling through the Amazon One site or at the Amazon One kiosk. Once at the kiosk, consumers scan a barcode and then scan both of their palms.
Test, Test, Test
In March, Panera Bread signed on to be the first restaurant to launch Amazon One in its cafes, testing out the system in two of its St. Louis locations, with potential plans to expand to other markets in the coming months.
Similarly last month, Whole Foods Market, which is owned by Amazon, announced that consumers will be able to pay for products at 11 of its locations in Colorado with just the palm of their hand.
We expect more retailers to partner with Amazon and leverage its biometrics payment system. While paying with your palm may not overtake cash, credit or even mobile anytime soon, if consumers find paying this way to be convenient and useful, then we’ll see increased adoption on a more widespread scale.
