Starbucks had an unique excuse yesterday for why its sales growth disappointed last quarter. Their "reasoning" goes like this ... their new "order and pay" cell phone app has proven so popular that their stores are very congested with pick-ups causing other customers to get discouraged and leave ... see: CNBC Story. What? This is a logical disconnect. Starbucks has so much new business that revenue growth is down! How can this be?
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It would seem to me that the Starbucks baristas can make just so many lattes, cappuccinos, espressos, Americanos, etc. in a given period no matter what the order source. And, since payment has been preprocessed outside the store, customer throughput should increase. Therefore, if the demand for their Java is daunting, then revenues should also be spiraling. That they are not, suggests to me that something else is afoot.
Perhaps, just perhaps, Star[big]bucks is reaching the limit of what people are willing to pay for their caffeine indulgences? I reached that cutoff years ago ...
1 comment:
You really should get out and do more research. I do much of my info gathering in the Starbucks line. Always a line. Generally, they have two cash registers and one hapless fancy drink maker. Logic tells you that this is a guaranteed logjam. I think the reason people leave is because the seating is taken up by people on computers who buy one small coffee and sit there for hours surfing the web on free wifi. Also the food is unimpressive and overpriced.
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