Part III: Atmosphere and Location of Starbucks

When Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO and chairman, traveled to Italy in 1983 and fell in love with the coffee shops there, he witnessed how one’s immediate surroundings can influence his or her mood and behavior. With this realization, Schultz brought the warm ambiance associated with the Italian coffeehouse tradition to Starbucks four years later, allowing it to gain the reputation it has today as a “third place” between home and work.

In order to explore how Starbucks’ atmosphere attracts consumers, we utilized methodology similar to that in Lareau’s study of different social classes and parenting styles by conducting interviews and observing consumers in three coffee stores located near the university campus. In the interviews, we asked consumers what aspects of the store layout or atmosphere attracted them to the particular coffee shop they visited most often. Some answers included:

“Cafe Medici has a nice orange lighting and many comfortable chairs and tables where college students like me can study” 

“No one really stays at The Coffee Bean because there are very few seats.  Normally, I come here, knowing that I am going to get a drink to-go”

The table below summarizes overall responses and other findings:

   

	The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf	Starbucks	Café Medici
Description of  store atmosphere and layout	-Relatively brighter lighting -Open window in front of bar with stools -Lack of available seating (only 5 stools near a window) -Coffee products on shelves -Casual music playing but barely audible due to high noise level by customers, employees, and machines	-Paintings on the wall -Wooden furniture -Bookshelves -Relatively dimmer and warm lighting -Outdoor patio -Casual music clearly audbile -Medium noise level from conversations	-Two-story building -Paintings on brick walls -Wooden furniture -Bookselves -Relatively dimmer and warm lighting -Abundant number of chairs and tables -Casual music somewhat audible -Medium noise level from conversations
Observation of consumer behavior	-Waiting to order or waiting for drink to be made -Seating area utilized upon waiting for drink to be prepared	-Waiting to order -Waiting for drink to be made -Studying -Conversing with others	-Studying -Conversing with others
Aspects of the atmosphere that attracted consumers	-Establishment greared more heavilty towards to-go orders	-Utilized as a place for study or small meetings with others	-Acts as a place for studying or meetings with others

                        Interestingly, Café Medici and Starbucks embody similar Italian-inspired atmospheres, yet there is a lack of people waiting to order or receive their drink in Café. This may be due to the fact that Starbucks is seemingly present everywhere and according to its website, it has more than 21,000 stores in 65 countries while Café Medici has only three coffee shops—all of which are in Austin, Texas. According to a Business Insider article by Merideth Kepore, Starbucks has added an average of two stores everyday since 1987, and the highest concentration of Starbucks is located at Santa Fe Springs California, with 560 stores in a 25 mile radius. As shown below, within the United States, Starbucks is the only chain that has widespread national coverage. While it may not dominate the coffee market in every region, the presence of a Starbucks store in each state allows its popular name to be recognizable and enticing nationwide (Leopore, 2011: 2). 

Starbucks presence is indicated by a green dot on the map.

            The ubiquity of Starbucks stores is unrivaled by any other coffe chain. By observing the presence of so many Starbucks locations, we are subject to the mere-exposure effect, the psychological phenomenon that results in the development of a preference for things simply because we are familiar with them.  That is, by just seeing the Starbucks logo day-to-day, we are influenced to visit more often than another rival store.  By utilizing the mere-exposure effect, Starbucks Coffee Corporation supplies a continuous stream of new customers at its stores and expands the subculture member base.