This is why Starbucks is no longer Gen Z's favorite haunt

There was a time when Starbucks could do no wrong. Sofas and a slew of bingey beverages made it a better option than the cozy individual café, unable to offer the same variety. But now it seems the darling of Gen Z no longer holds the same appeal.

To blame: over-priced brews, interminable queues and – adding insult to injury – incessant reminders to tip before the product has reached the customer’s hands.

Starbucks' waning popularity has been flagged up by a 3% sales drop globally in stores open for at least a year in the third quarter of 2024 and a 6% percent drop in the US in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024, according to CNN.

“I think we’re not at our best right now,” skeptical former CEO Howard Schultz and Starbucks shareholder told the Acquired podcast.

Also behind Starbucks’ spectacular fall from grace is the cost-of-living squeeze that has seen a decrease in café and restaurant spending in general in the wake of the pandemic.

The company attributes its price hikes to increased staff wages and more expensive ingredients for their products.

Starbucks’ queues are being blamed on the ever more complicated recipes the staff are asked to produce, and also on the Starbucks app which suggests a quick service but in fact results in a bottle neck.

“Everyone shows up, and all of a sudden we’ve got a mosh pit, and that’s not Starbucks,” Schultz told the Acquired podcast. Thirty percent of orders are now made on the app in the US.

Starbucks has increasingly come to resemble a factory production line, with comfortable seating – or any seating at all – being removed to make way for the burgeoning queues.

Schultz’s vision was to make Starbucks a place to hang out, but customer Steve Weeks, 68, of Southern California, tells the Financial Times, “You don’t get the same feeling they want you to stay in there as long.”

The latest blow to the chain is the social media kickback on its newly appointed CEO, Brian Niccol, who took over in September 2024, and does a 1,600 km commute by company private jet.

Euronews reported that Niccol has chosen to travel from his home in Newport Beach, California, to Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle, rather than relocating, creating a huge carbon footprint that undermines Starbucks’ bid for a green image.

Nicoll is credited with reversing the ailing fortunes of Chipotle Mexican grill and could well boost Starbucks' ailing status by simplifying its complex menu, but X users have expressed anger at what is being termed his “super commute.”

“Hey @Starbucks now onwards don’t preach about sustainability, reducing carbon footprint or CSR [corporate social responsibility],” one X user was quoted by Euronews.

Another X user wrote: "Is this corporate hypocrisy at its peak—Starbucks introducing paper straws and cups while pushing towards sustainability?”

One X user made it clear they would be withdrawing their custom: “Not spending a dime at ridiculously overpriced Starbucks! This is truly a company that has lost the original earthy vibe that first made it so successful.”

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Photo: Screenshot from XREA News X account