Store Design Has Been at the Forefront

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 designs that will inspire customers to purchase products and to encourage customers to return. 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 the location of the store and time of day, a Starbucks store can be extremely busy. For this reason the mood at Starbucks stores can be quite hectic at times. The company attempts to mitigate this hectic mood by playing slow to medium paced instrumental music. The servers also attempt to calm the mood by being polite and patient with customers.

The design of a full sized Starbucks coffee shop is usually open, very clean and inviting. The smell of the coffee is enticing and the menu that is available to customers is extensive and contains several types of coffee. In recent years, Starbucks has tried to make the process of purchasing coffee more convenient with the advent of the Starbucks Card. With the Starbucks card customers can prepay for purchases, which makes the experience more time effective and convenient for customers.

As you can see, a visit to a Starbucks can be an interesting experience. According to an article about the design of Starbucks stores and product packaging, the CEO of the company believes that "retail is detail." The company has worked hard to create a store design that sets a specific mood for the customers.

The article explains that The Starbucks sensation is driven not just by the quality of its products but by the entire atmosphere surrounding the purchase of coffee: the openness of its store space, the beauty of its packaging, friendly and knowledgeable service, interesting menu boards, the shape of its counter, the quality of lighting, the texture of the walls, and the cleanliness of the floorboards. What Starbucks recognized long before its imitators was that the art of retailing coffee went way beyond product."(Starbucks)

The article goes on to explain that the design of its stores is of the utmost importance to the company.

The terra cotta color scheme in the store is designed to create a feeling of relaxation and quality. (Starbucks) Much of the inspiration for the design of Starbucks coffee shops is taken from Milan, Italy. Upon visiting Milan, Howard Shultz CEO of Starbucks, found that the coffee shops had a certain ambiance that he wanted Starbucks to emulate. (Starbucks) He also understood that the coffee shops in Milan provided an oasis for coffee lovers and wanted the same type of environment for American coffee lovers. (Starbucks)