Starbucks leaves coffee shops in shopping malls in favor of drive-thrus

The chain of coffee shops adapts to the realities of the post-quarantine world and focuses on drive-thrus, self-service, and delivery.

As CEO Kevin Johnson told customers in his letter, Starbucks’ strategy for further development will change significantly. In the coming months, Starbucks plans to reduce a significant portion of its coffee shops in shopping malls. They will be replaced by drive-thrus and small coffee shops, where the main emphasis will not be on customer service in the hall, but trading and delivery services. 

There are also plans to open additional points for exporting orders made through a mobile application. And if drive-thrus will be opened mainly in the suburbs, coffee houses for self-exportation of orders will become typical for cities.
 
This trend was observed even before the beginning of the pandemic, but the introduction of quarantine measures around the world and the subsequent decline in activity of shopping centers led to the fact that coffee shops in the shopping center have become the most unpromising direction. But the services of self-delivery and delivery acquired an unprecedented relevance. The company intends to take advantage of this trend and quickly reorient towards more profitable directions. It is planned to complete the new strategy within 12-18 months.

In its statement, Starbucks emphasized that despite the small size of the new locations, Starbucks does not intend to abandon its concept of “third place”. That is, the new coffee shops will stand to benefit from visitors wanting to spend time there, socializing and distracting from the concerns of the “first” two places – work and home. 

During the month of April, Starbucks began opening its coffee shops to visitors, with only car cafes and drop-off points. The chain only began opening traditional coffee shops in May, and by early June it planned to open about 90% of all restaurants in the chain. In a recent report, the company reported that it reached 60-65% of last year’s sales volume. 

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