How a changing Starbucks hopes to retain customers

Starbucks is having a tough time. Though it’s still the world’s largest coffee chain, global sales decreased 3% last quarter, and in North America, total transactions at stores open at least one year dropped 6%.

CNN attributed the dip to higher prices and consumers’ unwillingness to pay them, pointing out that McDonald’s and similar chains have also reported falling sales.

So what can Starbucks do?

Today’s Starbucks customers don’t order hot coffee and chill with a book; they order cold drinks via drive-thru or mobile, more akin to a fast-food restaurant than a cafe.

Starbucks’ new strategies include:

• A new “Pairings Menu” with $5-$6 drink and breakfast combos. This is in line with McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Burger King — all attempting to lure back customers with $5 value meals.
• The Siren Craft System: several operational changes that act as an expansion of the “Siren System” — tech updates Starbucks began making in 2022.

How does it work?

Baristas now prepare hot drinks, which are perhaps less popular but faster and simpler to make, first, per Business Insider. This means no melty Fraps while waiting on your friend’s hot latte.

They also steam milk before pulling espresso, saving time and allowing the espresso to stay hot.

Also:

• A digital dashboard predicts busy times so that supervisors can strategize.
• “Peak Play Callers” are new roles with more flexibility to move between stations that need help.
• Ingredient dispensers are lined up on the counter so that employees don’t have to reach below the counter.

Starbucks even has new, faster blenders. Everything is about shaving off seconds, often in ways simpler than you’d think in a world increasingly powered by algorithms and burger-flipping robots.

Ultimately, the idea is that if people pop in for a quick latte — preferably made by baristas who don’t seem overly stressed — they’ll consider it a worthwhile treat, versus a hassle and an expenditure they don’t need.