Store design has been at the forefront of marketing strategies for many years. Marketing professionals use store design to create an ambiance that creates an environment that compels people to purchase certain products or services. The purpose of this discussion is to explain how public space affects people. For the purposes of this discussion we will focus on the store design of Starbucks. Our investigation will discuss the moods, feelings and ideas that the atmosphere presents to the customers. We will also focus on how the set-up of the building affects the people in the store. Finally, we will discuss the type of people that may frequent a Starbucks coffee shop. Let's begin our discussion by explaining some of the history behind the concept of store design.

Store Design

Some of the first experiments with store design occurred in grocery stores. According to a book entitled, The American Grocery Store: the Business Evolution of an Architectural Space, spatial design has always been an important component in the retail sector.

The book explains,

From its early small business stage to the modern era of corporate capitalism, conflicts over spatial design have been both averted and caused by the growth of American cities and territory...Public markets in streets created no excessive spatial demands, because commercial private property on the surrounding blocks provided other goods and services. But when cities began to grow, city officials needed street space to serve the growing demands of traffic. The loss of spatial flexibility that came with the move to the city block meant that the public markets had to compete economically with other businesses when land costs became part of their overhead... Over time, city grocery stores fared much better economically than public markets, because these stores had spatial flexibility. (Mayo 1993)

Early marketing professionals found that spatial design contributed greatly to the profitability of grocery stores. Today, marketing professionals use a range of tactics to create store...

These tactics include; music, color schemes, placement of products and placement of advertised in-store specials.
Starbucks

Over the past ten years Starbucks has become one of the most recognized brand names in the world. Starbucks has thousands of coffee shops and kiosks across the United States and around the world. An article entitled, Starbucks: to Drink or Not to Drink, explains

Starbucks is irrefutably the largest specialty coffee company in the world, with reported revenues of 2.6 billion dollars in 2001. In the whole world of coffee, though, Starbucks represents only one percent of the coffee supply, and all coffee shop purchases together account for about 5%. By contrast, Phillip Morris (owner of Kraft Foods) and Sara Lee together account for 25% of the world market...In Uncommon Grounds (see review, page 37) Mark Pendergrast quotes Howard Schultz, the mastermind behind the Starbucks empire: "Starbucks is going to be a global brand, in the same genre as Coke and Disney." They play hardball, Pendergrast reports, moving in across the street from small independent cafes, and in some cases buying out the buildings where competitors operate." (Starbucks: To Drink or Not to Drink 2002)

As you can see, the company has enjoyed unparallel success in the coffee shop industry and the spatial design of its store has contributed greatly to this success. When you walk into a Starbucks there are certain aspects of the spatial design that catch your attention right away. The interior of most Starbucks stores are sophisticated but also comfortable. There are usually tables for patrons to sit and talk and in some locations wireless connections to the internet are available. This creates an environment that allows customers to work, email a friend or conduct some research while drinking their favorite cup of coffee.

Starbucks stores are usually located in areas that are close to businesses and in highly populated areas. Depending on…