What Happened to the Starbucks “Third Place”?

A June 21 article in the Wall Street Journal, discussing ways in which Starbucks is trying to woo back customers who have drifted away, caught my eye. If you have a subscription, you can read the article here.

In their attempt to bring back lapsed customers, I think there is more for Starbucks to consider than simply price. I first became attracted to Starbucks many years ago, primarily for the way they positioned themselves as a “Third Place” between home and office. Laptops were coming into their own, the ability to connect to the company network from Starbucks was a refreshing “change of place”, and the stores themselves were designed to promote a community of networking employees.  

Attractive wooden tables and chairs, arranged in a rectangular grid, gave a sense of community and belonging. Neighborhood locations encouraged chance encounters among friends and colleagues, in addition to being a place for short meetings.

But COVID changed much of that. Starbucks stores were closed for months, and when they re-opened there was a decided trend in another direction.

In many locations, the former furnishings and seating arrangements had given way to drive-through ordering, advance order pickups and more sparely-furnished, concrete floored, warehouse-looking store designs. Perfect for the grab and go crowd, but not much for those looking for that elusive and welcoming Third Place. Or even a Second Place, for those working remotely.

This isn’t the case at all locations, and I still find my favored store in Paoli, PA to be very much in the community mindset, with Patty who is a wonderfully friendly manager. Even here, though, there is a huge drive-through and pick-up business, with people in a hurry to get their coffee and go…..somewhere.

Sure, price matters, especially now. But trying to compete on price with fast food establishments, donut shops and the like will yield little in the way of sustained brand separation for Starbucks. I think it’s time to re-create what one insightful writer once referred to as the tiny country named “Laptopistan”.