COMM296 Starbucks

A Starbucks is on every corner!
At the intersection of Robson and Thurlow, there are two Starbucks across from each other.

Here is the picture from Google map

The interesting thing (at least to me) about these two starbucks is that although both are located in the same intersection, it seems that one is targeting fairly different segment from another in terms of marketing.  

First of all, as you might know, one has a patio, but the other doesn’t.

The one on the left side

(I guess people from Red Robin would come down here and enjoy coffee while they’re waiting)

Another on the right side

From this point, I’ll just call the store with a patio as starbucks A, and the other without patio as Starbucks B, for the convinient reason.

In addtion to the patio, I’d like to point out a couple more different strategies between Starbucks A and B.

1. Table arrangement

At starbucks A, tables are mostly round-shaped and randomly distributed, so people could sit around and talk. On the other hand, tables at Starbuck B are square and nicely arranged,  so people could use their laptop and study more comfortably.

2. Power Outlets

Actually, I am now at Starbucks B, so let me count how many outlets are around me… I found 6 power sockets and I’m pretty sure there’d be more. What about Starbucks A? Well, considering its limited space, I believe there’d be less.

Since I couldn’t find any coffee shops within a block from these two Starbucks coffee shops, it seems that they are dominating cetain part of the downtown area. And I believe this kind of success wouldn’t be seen easily downtown. I’m wondering how much further starbucks could expand their market.