Here's what Starbucks is offering if you order ahead on its app (SBUX)

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Starbucks really wants you to use its Mobile Order & Pay service, and now it's giving you an incentive to do so.

The coffee giant is offering a limited time reward that gives customers an extra Star, the company's rewards currency, if they use the order-ahead service through the Starbucks App.

And the company has several reasons to push Mobile Order & Pay, note Jaime Toplin and Evan Bakker of BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. For starters, it can increase the efficiency within stores because a customer's order details are printed on a sticker attached to a coffee cup. This speeds up the checkout process and ultimately lets baristas serve more customers in less time.

Mobile Order & Pay has also already boosted the company's sales growth. The service accounts for 10% of transactions at the Starbucks' busiest stores, which drove total sales growth in the fourth quarter 2015. Starbucks therefore attributed the higher sales to Mobile Order & Pay.

Given this, the incentive program could increase Starbucks' top-line growth if more customers use the order-ahead service.

Starbucks processed 5 million mobile order-ahead transactions in September, the first month of the service, and that number increased to 6 million a month by the end of 2015.

One million customers made a mobile order-ahead payment in December, and these customers made an average of five purchases a month. Toplin and Bakker note that this suggests mobile order-ahead is a sticky product.

Customers who shop in quick-service restaurants such as Starbucks are increasingly adopting mobile order-ahead services, yet another sign that the way we pay for goods is evolving rapidly. Mobile orders are growing and changing as we speak, but what does the future of this space look like?

John Heggestuen, a managing research analyst on the BI Intelligence research team, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile payments that analyzes how this landscape will transform in the next few years.

BI Intelligence

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• In our latest US in-store mobile payments forecast, we find that mobile payment volume will reach $37 billion this year. This is about half our previous estimate for 2015. The downward revision is primarily the result of later-than-expected launches of major mobile wallets from big tech players.
• But by the end of the forecast period in 2019, we expect volume to reach $808 billion, or about 99% of the old estimate. Our forecast is still one of the largest in the industry, and we think mobile payments will catch on faster than other research firms suggest: Mobile payment capability is either already offered or about to be implemented at merchants accounting for a huge chunk of US payment volume.
• The number of people who make a mobile payment at least once a year will grow from nearly 8% of the US consumer population in 2014 to 65% by 2019. The growth in mobile payment users will largely be driven by mobile wallet initiatives from Apple, Samsung, and Google. When these are in place, 90% of the forthcoming smartphones in the US will come with mobile wallets preinstalled.
• Samsung Pay will be a huge driver of mobile payment volume. Unlike Apple Pay, Samsung Pay is compatible at virtually every payment terminal in the US, thanks to the company's acquisition of LoopPay. This will make it easier for early adopters to make a habit of paying with their phone.
• The sheer number of mobile wallets available or in the works from Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, CurrentC, Google Wallet, and others will drive mobile payment adoption as well. This will largely be the result of competitive pressure building between the companies and the bandwagon effect. Adoption will be self-reinforcing — the more consumers and retailers that use or offer mobile in-store payments, the more the behavior will catch on among others.

In full, the report:

• Forecasts US mobile payment volume and user base from 2014-2019.
• Provides an in-depth explanation of the assumptions and data behind the forecast.
• Analyses the asymmetric objectives of the key players in the mobile wallet space.
• Provides an update on the mobile payments industry including analysis of Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, and PayPal.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of how mobile payments are rapidly evolving.