EXAMINING THE STARBUCKS PHENOMENON: IS THE COMPANY SELLING A COMMODITY OR A LIFESTYLE?
Starbucks began in Seattle in 1971, but it was not until current CEO Howard Schultz assumed control of the company in 1987 that the company transformed itself into a cultural icon. A coffee house culture is centuries old in Western Europe and a somewhat different coffee house culture developed in California in the 1960s and 1970s. In Western Europe, coffee and social intercourse underlies the coffee house culture on an equal basis. In the 1960s and 1970s in California and other parts of the United States, the coffee house was a venue for social causes, which were of greater importance than the coffee. The Starbucks phenomenon appears to be different. The coffee appears to be important; however, identification as a Starbucks consumer may be of greater importance. This identification with Starbucks may replace both social intercourse and the venue for social causes.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the Starbucks phenomenon in an effort to determine whether Starbucks is marketing a commodity (coffee) or a culture (a lifestyle with which consumers identify). The hypothesis tested was that cultural motivations, more so than price or product preferences, explain the motivations for consumers either choosing to patronize Starbucks or choosing not to patronize Starbucks.
The research performed as a part of the study found that, among people who patronize Starbucks regularly and among people who do not patronize the companyÆs coffee shops, the strongest motivations have a cultural orientation, as opposed to factors related to product quality and price. These findings supported the hypothesis tested. These findings led, in turn, to the acceptance, by inference, of the hypothesis.
The findings imply that, regardless of what StarbucksÆ marketing strategy may be, consumers perceive Starbucks more as a cultural statement than a...