Yeah, I really don´t see people who drink $1 buds to all of a sudden start showing up at Starbucks. This is going to be basically the same clientile paying for overpriced wine instead of overpriced coffee. And yes, I know, if people are buying it it is not overpriced. Just my point, they are going to be making huge profits on each glass.
You mainly have two types of people going to places like Starbucks... Those who go there BECAUSE it's expensive and they want to be hip, trendy, rub elbows with the upper class, etc. And those like me who have plenty of money and who don't sweat the price of something they enjoy and prefer to be away from the riff raff.
I guess they're desperate to capture more customers with the beer and wine target. But you can see why. Everywhere is selling coffee now that didn't used to before. I'm talking about everywhere from bars to McDonalds. I don't think they should but it's all about the revenue really.
If they want to offer these drinks then I don't see why they shouldn't. My only concern is that they may lose business from those who are struggling with sobriety who previously may have visited Starbucks as it was "dry". I'm in the UK though and can't really see this happening here.
It is all about revenue... correct, this is a business, and I am sure they did enough research and compared the risks and rewards. Not my area of expertise at all, but I don´t think alcohol has a higher profit margin than their coffee and iMHO, it will mostly be the same people drinking different things. Their could be value in the fact that most people only drink one coffee per visit, but would more than likely have a couple of drinks.
I see the wine option as something that fits nicely with the approach Starbucks has always taken. I think wine is commonly known as a social beverage, but yet still high class, (more so than beer). Like others have said, there is a lot of money to be made off any alcohol drink.
Actually, thanks to the continued and growing popularity of craft beers, it's being more of an upscale option itself. Wine is obviously more fancy than beer, but the gap is closing a little bit. Plenty of people that used to drink wine are now also drinking beer. It can only help a company that sells both types of beverages, especially Starbucks, as they roll out their nationwide program.
Don't fix something that ain't broke. I thought this was a joke initially. Many people go to starbucks because they do not want a bar like atmosphere. And then in an attempt to get more customers, Starbucks attempts to turn itself into a bar. Probably when Starbucks starts to lose customers in droves they will learn it is a bad idea.
Except Starbucks isn't attempting to turn itself into a bar. What about craft beer and wine makes it a bar atmosphere? It's not going to attract customers looking for a bar. It's going to attract customers that want a place to grab a drink in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, which is exactly what Starbucks is for coffee right now. You're going to get similar clientele while bringing in more profits. It's a win-win situation.
It is a good and bad idea, it will help starbucks make more money, at the same time it might get rid of their loyal customers that are against alcohol, ther are some people who refuse to even sit in a joint that serves alcohol, just because they do not take it, so it is a good and bad idea, but most likely, starbucks is going to gain from the change.
