These features are an extension of Starbucks Siren Order, the company’s mobile order and pay technology, which allows customers in South Korea to order and pay for their purchases before arriving at their store.

With the launch, Starbucks Coffee Korea is the first retailer to leverage Samsung’s Bixby to allow for end-to-end ordering and payment. The debut of voice ordering in South Korea on Samsung devices further extends the customer experience within the Starbucks digital ecosystem.

“We are pleased to provide our customers with more convenient ways to be rewarded for their purchases,” said S.K. Lee, CEO, Starbucks Coffee Korea. “The launch of voice recognition ordering is a seamless addition to our innovation portfolio, creating a consistent third-place experience across digital and in-store interactions.”

Bixby allows My Starbucks Rewards™ customers in South Korea to place an order and pay through voice recognition “on command.” The feature allows customers to speak just as if they were talking to a barista in-store, including modifying their beverage to meet their personal preference. Bixby users who are not registered on the My Starbucks Rewards™ program will be prompted to first enroll and then continue to place their order.

Starbucks Coffee Korea continues to create emotional connections with customers through a number of key loyalty and digital offerings, including the debut of the Starbucks Card in 2009 and the launch of the My Starbucks Rewards™ program in 2011. In 2015, the Starbucks Korea app was launched on the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch, the first market in Asia to introduce the app to a wearable device.

As a mobile industry leader, Samsung first introduced Bixby in South Korea in May of 2017 on their flagship mobile devices.