As Starbucks Renew its locations in the US, the coffee chain is trying to make its coffees welcoming for everyone through a more inclusive design.
As part of its broader effort to recover customers, the company has prioritized plans to give changes to changes to approximately 1,000 locations by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, it will set aside the main renewals of stores and development.
While the changes will vary according to the location, wait more seats, dark wood panels and other adjustments that make their coffees more welcoming. Renovations will also include adjustments such as less hard lighting that will not affect customers with light sensitivity.
“We are building more than 1,000 coffee shops during the next year, combining our global heritage with local relevance to create spaces that are immersive, inclusive and deeply human,” said Dawn Clark, senior vice president of coffee design and concepts of Starbucks cafeteria, in a statement to CNBC.
“Whether the relaxed heat of the Palisades or the urban energy of Manhattan, the intentional design encourages customers to stay longer, connect more and return often, and translates into a significant commercial impact,” Clark said.
Starbucks plans to spend about $ 150,000 on each “elevation”, without closing the stores. The company began with locations in New York, followed by coffees in southern California.
Image changes are intended to make stores more cozy, returning Starbucks to their previous state as a “third place” for customers to pass the home and work. In recent years, Starbucks had lost that reputation, driven by decisions such as eliminating seats as mobile orders become popular and get rid of points of sale to discourage persistence.
Under the CEO Brian Niccol, the chain plans to reverse many of those decisions while trying to break a sales fall. For example, he previously told employees in June that he plans to add the 30,000 seats that had been removed from coffees.
But trying to attract a wider strip of customers is not new for the company. Starbucks presented for the first time a store design accessible at the beginning of 2024, before Niccol's mandate. At that time, the company said the design took about two years and included contributions from baristas.
Check out a recently renewed coffee in New York City near Manhattan's Union Square.
The location of Starbucks Union Square East before renewal
Source: Starbucks
Before the renewal, the location lacked many decorative touches, in addition to some large -scale photos of the Alsacia de la Cadena, its coffee and research farm in Costa Rica.
With such scarce seats, coffee concrete floors were more obvious. Hard lighting also did not help the appearance of the store.
A large seat area now has even more seats, in addition to a gallery and lighting wall with less look.
Source: Starbucks
The location now has many more seats near the entrance. Leather accents to the enveloping cabin make the seats more comfortable. The tables are easily mobile and an accessible height for wheelchair users.
Starbuck also brought back the points of sale that disappeared in previous image changes. Now, customers who want to study or work from location can collect their laptops or phones, encouraging them to stay longer.
Large area carpets bring a cozy touch, in addition to cushioning the environmental noise of coffee. Living plants also add to the home environment of space.
Location settings include adding high roof tables and bar stools for more seat options.
Source: Starbucks
The high tables, located closer to the Barista bar, offer a seat option for customers looking to sit with colleagues. Image change add 16 more seats to the location.
Starbucks also changed his bulbs to soften the lighting of the store and reduce the glow, giving it a warmer atmosphere. Improved lighting helps highlight an existing mural, seen to the right of the photo above.
Starbucks added a shelf that highlights its coffee beans.
Source: Starbucks
Behind the Barista bar, the company added a large shelf unit that highlights its coffee bags, in addition to harpyrant decorative bags containing beans. Touchs of Purple are a wink to the nearby New York University.
Customers waiting to collect their drinks can sit aside. Previously, the area was a standing bar that was not accessible to wheelchair users.
In addition to adding carpets, Starbucks also improved the general isolation of the location to reduce the clamor of an occupied cafeteria. For baristas, change means that conversations between customers are less likely to alter their work, whether listening to an order correctly or focusing on milk with milk.
