Starbucks’ digital and technology prowess has put it ahead of its peers, allowing it to serve more customers faster. Same- store sales rose 5 percent in the Americas region in the most recent quarter. Mobile payments accounted for about 25 percent of U.S. transactions in that period.
     
Starbucks built on its tech leadership with an order-ahead feature, which lets customers select and pay for drinks in advance. They then can pick up the beverages at a shop without waiting in line.

Since Johnson became operating chief, Starbucks has rolled out mobile ordering across the U.S. and even tested delivery.

The Seattle-based company also is boosting spending on digital ventures, including taking its app and rewards platform to countries such as China.

Though shares of Starbucks tumbled immediately after the announcement, they recovered some of that ground during extended trading. As of 9:53 a.m. in New York on Friday, the stock was down 2.4 percent to $57.11

Eoin Treacy's view

Starbucks sells coffee and snacks, technology might ensure the lines are shorter but unless it has ambitions on selling that technology to a wider market the business is unlikely to change much. Losing Schulz as a figurehead is a blow and investors are likely to want to see improving sales if the new CEO is to be given the benefit of the doubt. 

The share has held a progression of lower rally highs since October 2015 and bounced impressively over the last four weeks to challenge that sequence. It will need to hold the move above the trend mean to signal a return to demand dominance beyond short-term steadying. 


Starbucks, Nike and Disney were among the best performing shares following the credit crisis. They have all lost uptrend consistency and Nike is trending lower. Leaders tend to lead in both directions so quite apart from the fact they are interesting companies they are worth monitoring because increasing consumer spending stemming from a future fiscal stimulus should benefit these kinds of companies.