Recently, Starbucks has frequently trended on social media due to its "pay-to-sit" policy, sparking intense discussions among netizens. At the same time, Starbucks has been continuously active in distributing coupons and offering discounts in live-streaming rooms, with the price of a single beverage even dropping below 20 yuan, in sharp contrast to its earlier stance of "having no intention of participating in a price war." To balance revenue and expenditure, Starbucks is also controlling labor costs internally, with some office-building stores choosing to close and suspend operations on holidays. Although the brand has pulled out all the stops to attract customers, consumers' complaints that it is "overpriced and bad-tasting" remain undiminished. Front Street Coffee has observed that in China's increasingly cutthroat coffee market, it is becoming harder and harder for Starbucks to maintain its high posture. [more…]

After the Mixue Bingcheng flagship store opened in Hangzhou, a large number of fans went to check in, and the nearby Starbucks store became a place for fans to rest and organize their spoils. Faced with passersby who occupied seats without making a purchase, Starbucks did not forcefully drive them away, but instead posted an extremely gentle notice reminding them to help put trash into the bin when unwrapping packaging. This notice, which contains no words such as "please do not" or "prohibited" throughout, was called by netizens a dignified reminder "cautious in every word." Behind the incident is the dilemma coffee shops face between maintaining the consumer experience and avoiding public opinion risks. [more…]