Looking for ways to eliminate bottlenecks caused by the popularity of mobile orders, Starbucks will open a dedicated mobile order and pay-only store at its Seattle headquarters. Are mobile order and pay-only locations a wise idea for Starbucks?

The Mobile Order & Pay app has been such as success for Starbucks that it’s causing bottlenecks in its highest-volume stores at peak times and leading some impatient customers to walk out. Is the increased use of mobile ordering bound to add more unpredictability to the pick-up process across retail?

Starbucks is reportedly putting an end to its “Evenings” program that brought beer and wine sales to more than 400 of its stores. This is not the first time the company has dropped a program or concept after concluding it wasn’t going to deliver the results needed. What do you make of Starbucks’ decision to give up alcohol?

With its latest promotional/entertainment hybrid, Starbucks is debuting a cartoon web series aimed at younger Millennials by writers whose names Generation Xers will also recognize from credits of The Simpsons. How far should retailers go in producing own-branded entertainment programming?

Starbucks is launching “Pokémon Go Frappuccino” in a partnership with Niantic, the maker of the hit augmented reality game. The initiative will see more than 7,800 Starbucks locations in the U.S. turn into “PokeStops” or “Gyms” where players can collect free in-game items or engage in battles. What do you think of augmented reality games as traffic drivers for retailers?

Yesterday’s news that Howard Schultz will step down next year as the chief executive officer of Starbucks shouldn’t come as any surprise. The question is whether or not Mr. Schultz will feel compelled in the future to ride back in and rescue the company as he did once before. Do you think Starbucks will ultimately be more or less successful as a result of its new management structure?

In recent years, a veritable flood of patent applications has re-imaged the decades-old and staid format of the drive-thru lane. How can newer technologies reimagine the drive-thru? Should speed be the primary goal in improving the drive-thru experience?

For a promotion, running from October 20 to October 23, Starbucks locations are featuring drinks thought up by baristas themselves, called “Barista Originals.” Can other retailers and foodservice operators benefit from encouraging this type of on-the-clock artistry among their staff?

Many brands, such as Starbucks and Sephora, have lots of users and praise for their apps; others, including some big-name brands, have fallen short. What advice would you have for retailers looking to drive downloads and use of their apps?

Though Starbucks has a feverishly dedicated customer base, a new study indicates that the chain’s drive-thru experience could stand to be more caffeinated. Could curbside delivery put a dent in Starbucks’ problem with long lines at the drive-thru?

Starbucks has launched an original web series, highlighting stories in which individuals and communities come together to confront societal challenges in positive, collaborative ways. Do you think other retailers are essentially “storytellers at heart” in the way Starbucks is?

Many companies rely on the expertise of their PR teams to lift them from a public crisis, yet in such situations they might do well to look to their loyalty marketing teams for their best insights and access to customers. The author presents advice on how to use loyalty data to regroup and from a potential PR crisis.

Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz announced this week that he is taking a step back from the day-to-day running of the coffee giant to focus on the development of its higher-end businesses. Do you see Howard Schultz’s decision as a positive for Starbucks’ business going forward?

Starbucks announced earlier this week that it was part of a group making an investment in Princi, an artisanal Italian bakery. Do you think Starbucks and Princi will be able to maintain the quality of product now served in five locations when extended to thousands?

Apple’s disappointing second quarter earnings — including the first-ever drop in sales for the iPhone — accelerated worries about how the company will deliver the strong growth investors have come to expect. Should Apple shift focus to better capitalize on its rabid fan base?

Retailers faced with the reality of having to staff stores with low wage workers have loosened dress and personal appearance codes in recent years. Now comes news that more than 14,100 have signed a petition on Coworker.org asking Publix to allow employees to wear beards. How should management at retail handle this and other generational appearance issues in the workplace?

In an industry that is known for high turnover and low pay, some leading retailers are working to ensure their employees are happy. In turn, they’re experiencing improved employee loyalty. What do you think are some obvious and less obvious ways retailers can show their appreciation to store associates?

Starbucks wanted to find a way to reward customers for using a payment card with its name on it, even for purchases made at other businesses. That’s where the new Starbucks Rewards Prepaid Card from Chase comes in. What do you see as the pros and cons of the new prepaid Visa for Starbucks?

Grocery retailers and foodservice operators have been among the leaders in the business community offering hope to food banks and charities. A case in point is Starbucks, which earlier this week announced the launch of FoodShare. What are the biggest impediments in the way of grocers and foodservice operators donating unsold food to charities?

Watch out Starbucks! McDonald’s is ready to launch its first full-fledged loyalty program later this year or early in 2017. How receptive will consumers be to McDonald’s loyalty program? Do you think McD’s should largely mimic Starbucks’ My Rewards program?

Starbucks is making a change to how it doles out rewards for its loyalty program. Instead of issuing a star for every visit, the coffee giant will now reward its card members with two stars for every dollar spent at locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Will the changes in how Starbucks rewards its customers lead to an increase in its loyalty program membership numbers?

Starbucks has been instrumental in creating “coffee culture” in the U.S., but creating a similar space for tea has been less successful. The company recently announced that it was closing the majority of its Teavana “tea bars.” Was it the right choice to jettison Teavana tea bars even as packaged tea products continue to become more popular in Starbucks locations?

Krispy Kreme, a company that has long kept coffee on its back burner, is trying to up its game in the space where Starbucks dominates, testing out changes that will make its stores more like Starbucks in both product and experience. Does Krispy Kreme have a chance at establishing itself as a viable alternative to Starbucks?

Death and taxes are not the only certainties in life. You can also add the annual claim by some that retailers — those pursuers of all things controversial — are waging a war on Christmas. Do you think some retailers are guilty of being in some way anti-Christmas? How should retailers deal with accusations that they are against Christmas?

Sometimes it seems as though waiting to be served at Starbucks takes forever, and that’s not even during rush periods. But waiting may be a thing of the past as Starbucks’ mobile app now enables customers all over the U.S. to place and pay for orders before arriving. In what ways will the nationwide rollout of Mobile Order & Pay shape Starbucks’ business going forward?

Fall has become synonymous with pumpkin spice-flavored products, but one of the most popular, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, has also become the most controversial. Last year, a blogger posted a takedown of the drink. Now Starbucks has changed the recipe so that it includes a more “natural” ingredient lineup. How responsive should food manufacturers and retailers be to calls for changes to ingredients, even if the concerns are dubious?

There is perhaps no place in the U.S. as synonymous with ostentatious presentation and over-the-top stunts as Las Vegas—a fact that Starbucks intends to use to its advantage with its entirely unique one-off store on the Vegas Strip. Will the Las Vegas Strip Starbucks experience offer valuable insights to the company or lead to confusion and brand dilution?

Starbucks has been linking some big partnerships to its loyalty program. Last week, the coffee giant announced a new deal with The New York Times. What is your assessment of Starbucks’ use of its mobile app and rewards program to create opportunities for its business both inside and outside of the chain’s stores?

Starbucks is partnering with nearly 20 other major U.S.-based companies to create the nation’s largest employer-led coalition to hire and train up to 100,000 young people. If hiring and training young people who are not pursuing a college education is an opportunity for retailers, why haven’t they made a more concerted effort sooner?

When people spend as much as they do to buy coffee at Starbucks, you wouldn’t think they would pay much attention when a cup goes up five to 20 cents. Do you think Starbucks will suffer a customer backlash as a result of the latest price increase?

As music continues to play an important role in the Starbucks experience, it may become even more prominent with the announcement the coffee chain is partnering with Spotify to link the 10 million members of its loyalty program with the streaming music service. What music do you associate with Starbucks?

According to reports, hackers are finding a way to gain access to people’s Starbucks mobile accounts and triggering the auto-reload function, thereby giving them access to the users’ debit and credit card data. Do reports of consumers having their mobile accounts hacked represent a serious problem for Starbucks?

Starbucks earned a lot of love last Friday evening as stores gave free drinks to customers after an internal glitch caused the chain’s POS terminals to go down in the U.S. and Canada. What lessons can be learned from the way Starbucks’ store staff handled the recent POS outage?

Adding an air of exclusivity and collector’s appeal to retail items seems to be a burgeoning trend. Starbucks has been at the game for a while, and now is upping the ante in terms of design and rolling out a pricey limited edition gift card meant to be the perfect gift for a coffee-drinking mom. What do you think of Starbucks’ pricing strategy with its limited edition gift cards?

Earth Day is getting a bit old — 45 years to the date to be exact — but the goal of reducing waste and costs is alive and well in retailing. What are the biggest environmental challenges affecting retailers’ ability to operate profitably today?

Starbucks has announced it will make full tuition reimbursement available to more than 140,000 employees in the U.S. as part of the expanded Starbucks College Achievement Plan. Will the Starbucks College Achievement Plan provide the chain with a competitive advantage in the marketplace for employees?

If Howard Schultz and Starbucks’ management team didn’t already know, they certainly do now — no good deed, or attempt at one, goes unpunished. Will Starbucks’ #RaceTogether campaign ultimately help or hurt its image and business?

Always worried about the battery in your mobile phone or tablet dying out? That may soon be a concern of the past with the announcement that IKEA is launching a new line of tables, lamps and desks that will wirelessly charge your wireless devices. Will IKEA be successful with its Home Smart line of furniture?

Starbucks will stop selling CDs in its stores by the end of March. However, reports suggest the coffee chain is exploring other avenues to tap into its music heritage, likely involving digital distribution. How important is curated music and related music sales to the Starbucks’ experience?

Beyond the pink cutout hearts on windows, some chains are taking extra steps for Valentine’s Day to encourage intimate engagement among its customers. What do you think of campaigns that call for personal interactions with others?

If you feel good about supporting small local businesses every time you buy your coffee in the morning, you might want to research who really runs your local mom-and-pop. You might be buying Starbucks, whether you like it or not. Could you see other retail chains using “stealth store” tactics and, if so, for what purposes? Do you find such concepts duplicitous to consumers?

The NRF Foundation has released a “List of People Shaping Retail’s Future” ahead of its inaugural gala this weekend in New York. The list of 25 individuals is broken out into five groups: disruptors, givers, influencers, dreamers and power players. Who do you see as today’s most impressive retail disruptors?

Coffee has made Starbucks a household name, but food sales are going to be a big reason for the chain’s continued growth in the years to come. That’s a key takeaway from Starbucks’ biennial investor conference yesterday. Is Starbucks on the right track turning its attention to growing day-parts beyond breakfast?

From their beginnings, diverse businesses have succeeded by becoming a third place outside of home and work for consumers to pass the hours. The success of various third place destinations has influenced others to share a similar goal. What are the keys to becoming a third place retail space?

When you’re Starbucks, a one percent increase in traffic and a five percent gain in same-store sales is not enough. The latest effort from the coffee chain in its perpetual search for growth is home delivery. Will offering deliveries grow Starbucks business?

Starbucks will introduce for the first time “Mobile Order and Pay” nationwide in 2015. The service, to be tested within the Portland area before the end of the year, enables customers to place orders in advance of their visit for a quick pick up. How appealing will the ability to order and pay ahead be for consumers at Starbucks and other chain eateries?

Starbucks is looking for ways to improve working conditions for its baristas without breaking the bank in the process. Among the ideas being considered, which seems to have caught the attention of the media, is relaxing the employee dress code, which currently requires workers with body art to keep their tattoos under cover. What is your take on tattoos in the workplace?

Starbucks last week announced plans to launch two formats: one express concept targeting busy commuters and the other a tasting room targeting more-leisurely coffee connoisseurs. Do you see a bigger opportunity for Starbucks with express formats or premium, tasting reserve locations? What challenges do both formats face?

McDonald’s has gone to great lengths in recent years to raise the profile of its coffee with consumers in the battle for the breakfast day-part and beyond. Now the fast food restaurant operator is following the lead of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks with plans to sell its coffee in stores beginning early next year. Do you expect packaged McCafe coffees to be successful?

Starbucks presents a prime example of the convergence going on between gift cards, loyalty programs, and mobile wallets. But the popularity of e-gift cards continues to show how important “gifting’ is as part of the retail experience. Do you agree that helping gift givers is a missed opportunity by many stores?