Behind the five reminders, what calculation did Starbucks make?

Netizens have two different views on Starbucks’ new “consumption seating” rules. Supporters said: “The consumption to seat is very reasonable. Sometimes you can’t find a seat in the store.” The dissatisfaction of the opponents is concentrated on the other side: there are not many places in the city where you can sit for free for a while, and a space where you have to pay first for even a short rest makes people feel that a certain sense of relaxation is being tightened.

Text | Zhu Li

星巴克“Consumption seat” new規The first day after landing, a scene再次引Posted a public controversy。

據央廣網報道，Ms. Yang participated temporarily during a period when passenger flow was sparse.一During an online meeting, I planned to place an order after the meeting, but was reminded to order five times by the store clerk in about an hour and a half. “There is nothing wrong with merchants making money and promoting consumption and seating, but frequent urging can easily cause customers to feel like they are being chased away.”

網友對星巴克“Consumption seat” new規There are two different views。支持者表示: “The cost of seating is very reasonable. Sometimes I can’t find a seat in the store.” Opponents’ dissatisfaction focuses on another aspect: places in the city where you can sit for free for a whileThere isn’t much in the first place, and a space where you have to pay for even a short rest makes people feel some kind of relaxation.感正在被收攏。

A chair can make a noise because it touches two things at the same time: the merchant’s business and the city’s public space. Some comments put this gap very directly:The quarrel is not about whether there should be rules, but why the agreed-upon “third space” does not count; in essence,星巴克It’s an emotional contract that has been in business for more than 20 yearsRepricing.

The rules are fine, the problem is how to remind them

新規On the first day of implementation, some media visited a number of Starbucks stores in Chengdu and found that although warning signs had been posted, there were still some passersby on site.未消費I sat down and stayed, and was not asked to make a purchase or asked to leave by the clerk. Store staff said that seat management has differentiated viewing rhythms: approximately every20Check every minute“佔座”situation, the peak period is shortened to10minutes or so.

上海市消保委Deputy Secretary-General Tang Jiansheng’s statement drew the basic line very clearly:“消費入座”屬於There is no need to argue too much about basic business rules; merchants rent shops and bear the cost of the venue, and the tables and chairs in the store are supporting business facilities, and the service objects are the customers; the citizens’ need for a short rest falls within the scope of public services, and this responsibilityIt should not fall on commercial stores.

From a legal point of view, merchants have operational autonomy over their business premises and have the right to set reasonable operating conditions. The words “consumption and seating” are self-defeating. But the rules are correct,無法Automatically eliminate visual damage caused by rough execution.

During an on-site visit, the reporter also saw that store clerks would “inspect the entire venue at regular intervals and proactively remind citizens who have not made any purchases to sit down.” The problem is not the reminder itself, but that the rhythm, frequency and proportion of the reminder are completely left to the front line. The goal of the rules is to keep paying customers seated, but the way they are enforced may push away a customer who would have paid in the first place.

合The law is the bottom line. How to implement it without embarrassing both parties is the real test question. It’s easy to say that there should be no coercion, no discrimination, and no excess. However, the brand has not come up with a set of replicable and predictable standards for the line between “friendly reminder” and “repeated interruption.”

Why did Starbucks move this chair now?

From public information,星巴克Tightening seats is not a temporary move, behind changes in capital structure and operating pressure. This year4月，博裕資本完成對星巴克China retail business approx.60%Equity acquisition, recent8000Each store has shifted from direct operation to franchise operation, and single store floor efficiency and table turnover rate have become hard assessment indicators for the first time. At the same time, market share is also under pressure: from2017年的42%降至2024年的14%. The road to raising prices is basically adopted by domestic9.9Yuan coffee price war blocked,星巴克It can only be determined from transaction volume and space周轉裏摳效率。

緊迫性也Written in operating data.2026fiscal second quarter,星巴克Same-store sales in China increased only slightly0.5%, transaction volume growth2.1%, but the unit price per customer dropped year-on-year1.6%. Transaction volume is coming back, but the value of each transaction is declining. The number of stores is approaching8000Fixed costs such as rent and labor are still rising.

有媒體The analysis points out the core contradiction:星巴克What we sell is not just a cup of coffee, but also a seatLocation, environment and stay time; when the passenger flow structure slides from “high conversion, medium and short stay” to “low conversion, long stay”, the “third space” that was once part of the brand premium has changed from a moat to a real cost burden.

星巴克The choice is not個例. Independent coffee shops have long regarded “shopping for consumption” and “one person per seat, one per person” as industry practices. Some stores even require seats with power supply.Set continuation conditions。瑞幸、Manner等品牌走is another way: use a smaller store area and weaker sedentary attributes to change the “seat” from the default configuration to an operating variable that requires actuarial calculations.

Consumption rules posted in a cafe

星巴克Its long-term differentiation lies precisely in its willingness to bear the cost of seats and use space換品牌sticky. But when the proportion of free seats exceeds a certain critical point and paying customers can’t find a seat with their cups, this “willingness to bear” loses its commercial sustainability. Cooperate with new規，星巴克Announcing additional super sales for the new fiscal year3100 million yuan spent on store services煥New, covers approx.1000Home store. Set on one side立Threshold, side plus大Investment, the signal sent is clear: seats have a cost,星巴克No longer want to pay for an unlimited stay that does not generate any commercial returns。

Opposing voices also deserve to be taken seriously, and they point toNot Starbucks“Should we make money?” Some netizens said that there are not many places in the city where you can sit for free for a while; some people lamented that “it seems that you must have something when you go out.”“Purpose”, almost every space in shopping malls, restaurants, and coffee shops reminds you to buy something. AGo to Starbucks oftenSelf-study consumers also admitted that they usually consume, but they do not fully support “consumption and sitting” from a moral perspective.

When the supply of public open space is insufficient, commercial places such as cafes and fast food restaurants are forced to assume the function of “city living rooms”.

Some media comments believe that,大家Love going to StarbucksThe fundamental reason for sitting dry is that there are too few truly free, decent, air-conditioned, and seating public open spaces in business districts and communities. When public resources are lacking, businesses willing to open their doors are good business intentions, but it is “by no means a natural public welfare.”星巴克Setting consumption thresholds is nothing more than letting business be business. What we should really ask is, when the “urban living room” begins to experienceTickets, where else can those who really need a break go.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with “business belongs to business”, but it also needs to be considered when implementing it.elasticity and temperature. Rules can be straightforward, but straightforwardness does not mean cold; thresholds can be set, but the way in which they are set reflects a company’s understanding of “people.”