So watch out baristas, Starbucks is coming to shake things up! Over the next year, the company intends to refresh a minimum of 1,000 of its U.S. cafes. The “Back to Starbucks” campaign is designed to make our stores more welcoming. It’s driven by our commitment to improving every aspect of the journey for our customers. The company will phase out its pickup-only outlets, which Starbucks leadership deemed “overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand.”
The redesigned public cafes will introduce an expanded design palette and aesthetics, and bring back thousands of public seats that had been removed through the years. By prioritizing “welcoming coffeehouses with great seats,” Starbucks seeks to foster a more communal environment for patrons. Starbucks is returning its emphasis to stand-alone cafes. This shift aims at both better bottom lines and happier customers.
Starbucks’ mobile ordering service — which already represents almost a third of all transactions — will be largely immune from these changes. Despite scaling back plans for automation, the company intends to maintain efficiency in service by delivering drinks in four minutes or less in both cafes and drive-throughs. This commitment demonstrates Starbucks’ corporate desire to use technology while still maintaining a human element.
To help facilitate this new experience, Starbucks intends to bring on additional baristas. The additional staffing will provide both the quality service that customers expect in a timely manner, as well as an opportunity for a deeper relationship-building interaction. The introduction supports the company’s plan to combine convenience with a community, friendly spirit.
Brian Niccol, now Starbucks’ chief but then Chipotle’s head honcho, made cultural vibes a central plank of business in any space. He stated, “We found this format to be overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand.” This announcement is a great illustration of the company’s movement from a more transactional lens to a relational approach within its business model.
Starbucks is always innovating. It has over 41,000 stores globally and is the best example of getting ahead of changing consumer habits. In many ways, the “Back to Starbucks” initiative represents a historic turn in the company’s approach to civic engagement and grassroots organizing. Starbucks’ goal is to reinvent its cafes into community hubs, places where people can gather and exchange ideas.