Do people buy Starbucks coffee more as a status symbol to show others that they can afford to splurge or because they haven’t yet figured out how to make their own coffee at a much lower cost?
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I love Starbucks, but personally I would never buy just regular brewed coffee there. I go to Starbucks for the Frappuccinos, and other drinks that I can’t make at home. I only buy occasionally as a treat, since the drinks I like are terrible for you.
Wow. If you would even think of doing this then you really should consider your life at this point. Do you really care that much what other people think of you? To actually pretend that you can afford a specific brand of coffee? Is this serious?
I drink it because I love it. I make my own coffee at home on most days but once in a while I like a specialty coffee.
I have major digestive issues and Starbucks is the only coffee place in my small town that offers dairy and sugar free fancy drinks. I cannot get a milkshake anywhere here that is dairy free but I can get a dairy free Frapp at Starbucks. It’s similar enough. I often get a vanilla bean frapp and add strawberries to it.
That is the main reason I choose Starbucks.
I usually have my Starbucks at home and also in my own reusable cup that has no logo on it so It’s in no way a status symbol.
I am beyond the age where I care what anyone anywhere thinks.
You’re accusing people snobbery or ignorance when there are far better explanations.
When I’m out running errands, I can’t really make myself an iced coffee in my my car. Sure, it’s cheaper when I’m at home, but it is really not time or cost effective to make a 40 mile round trip back to the house when I’m shopping several towns away. (Missouri is full of tiny towns. I live seven miles from work. I also go through four towns to get there.) It is easier to go to a Starbucks.
It is also caffeine. There are times you just need caffeine. Starbucks supplies caffeine. Starbucks are typically easy to find. They also provide places to sit, free WiFi, and don’t bother you while you are sipping coffee and reading your book or playing on your phone. If you don’t want caffeine, they also have other options. There is also drive thru if you need to get your drink while going from one errand to another or while on the way to work.
Plus, Starbucks has options you usually don’t have at home. Do you keep on hand the supplies necessary to make a venti non-fat chocolate caramel macchiato or a matcha green tea latte or, last summer’s abomination, the unicorn frappuccino?
People want convenience, familiarity, and options. Starbucks supplies all three.
Absolutely true that it’s just a status symbol to have a cup of Starsucks(not a spelling mistake). The coffee at SB really sucks whichever option you try.
I personally see Starbucks as a treat. I do not keep all those flavorings, coffee and tea types, and little snacks in my house. It’s honestly not cost effective because I wouldn’t use them up. I feel it’s a high calorie and sweet treat. I do get it every so often. It feels nice to treat yourself, so why not?
Some people can budget in treating themselves all the time. I personally think it’s a lot of wasted calories and I think about my health more as I’ve arrived to my 40s.
I know how to make coffee. I have a mini coffee station with a few options for coffee and a few creamers in the fridge. I like my coffee better the way I make it. I don’t feel what Starbucks sells resembles coffee. To me, it’s more like a coffee/tea smoothie.
Cheers!
Neither. I just like Starbucks when I’m out and like someone else mentioned, I don’t carry my coffee machine around wherever I go.
They would only be showing the other customers of Starbucks that they can afford to splurge, I would guess that people go as its handy when they are out as there as so many locations, it’s a decent enough cuppa and it’s a nice 3nough coffee place to meet a friend for a cuppa, i don’t think k it has a status about it, it’s just a coffee shop
For myself, I only ever get a Java Chip Frappuccino w/a shot of espresso (maybe once a month). It’s a lot less hassle to pay for one than to make it myself.
Peet’s
Starbucks ceases to be a status symbol post high school. A coffee from an independent, “hipster” cafe is much more of a fashion statement than toting around a cup emblazoned with the green siren.
That said, Starbucks is wildly convenient and consistent. People know what they are getting and know that it won’t take them more than a few minutes, which is why so many show up to work or school or meetings with a Starbucks in hand.
Real life example ~ I’m a music teacher and a bartender. I run on caffeine. I don’t own a drip coffee maker because I prefer a Kyoto style pour over or my good old fashioned Italian stovetop “moka” espresso maker. Both of these methods take time, and sometimes I need those precious minutes to iron a shirt or finish my makeup. It’s much faster to order from an app and run into the store next to my work than it is for me to boil my own water, make my own coffee AND clean up the aftermath.
Also, Starbucks has options. Maybe I am in the mood for a blended drink or a cold brew rather than my usual black espresso.
There are so many reasons to get Starbucks, but I don’t think showing off is one of them.
I will always choose Starbucks when I’m away from home and wanting a coffee.
i make coffee daily at home in a regular coffee pot too.
my reasons in no particular order
1- as several other answers have pointed out Starbucks is conveniently located to get a beverage when you’re out and about. It’s extremely easy to pay with your phone=less things to carry with you
2- Starbucks company culture regarding the dead and hard of hearing: You can order with your phone, and drive through and give your name or pickup inside as usual. I’m hard of hearing, and wear hearing aids but drive through windows are a struggle for me especially since human speech falls right in some of my biggest loss areas. I’m also 31 so most people don’t take me seriously when I say I don’t hear well. I don’t have to stress if I’m going to be able to hear in the drive through to answer questions, or confirm my order if they heard my customizations, etc. (this could be a whole answer in itself, but I do not identify as Deaf because I still have some hearing and do not know much sign language yet and am not involved in Deaf culture.) I applaud the companies attitude towards accessibility, and they have an amazing customer service record with the Deaf/deaf/HoH communities.
3- substitution and customizable options. Im lactose intolerant, and try to limit my caffeine in the afternoon. I also really love sweet coffee. I can order a decaf coconut milk latte with extra hazelnut syrup and a packet of Splenda- and no one cares! Try that at any mainstream fast food chain.
4- Living wage and benefits. I know folks who have worked for Starbucks and it is known for paying well and offering benefits that many similar employers don’t. I’m only one person, but anytime that I can choose to support a business that pays a liveable wage, seems to value employees and offer opportunities, and also is actively reducing waste and seeking sustainable options- I will.
Absolutely. And it doesn’t end there! These same people also buy McDonald’s hamburgers as a status symbol to show others they can afford to splurge because they haven’t figured out how to make their own hamburger at a much lower cost.
As a Starbucks consumer with a perfectly good coffee machine at home, I can answer this.
Do people buy Starbucks coffee more as a status symbol to show others that they can afford to splurge?
Some do, I’m sure. I’ve actually been asked for my empty cup so that a girl could take a selfie, so for some people it’s definitely a status symbol.
Because they haven’t yet figured out how to make their own coffee at a much lower cost?
It could be a factor for some, but people don’t go around carrying their coffee machine whenever they go, so even if they know how to make their coffee at home and they can make an even better one, that ability is useless when you’re outside your home.
You also forgot a third option: Some people just like Starbucks.
Outside of the status symbol and the admittedly meh coffee, Starbucks offers a comfortable place to study or chill when you’re at the mall, a variety of frappes that are awful for you but taste amazing and can’t be easily replicated at home and really cool thermos.
Also pastries and shit, but those almost taste pastic-y.
Editing this answer to add a fourth option.
Starbucks makes it really easy to pay.
I recently noticed this is one of the biggest reasons I keep visiting Starbucks. I can get a coffee eve…
Victor Allen’s
I buy Starbucks coffee for few reasons:
Novelty. Sometimes they come out with a new product that I just want to try.
I’m on the go. I do carry a thermos but sometimes I’m out of coffee and I want coffee.
Feel compelled to buy something. I sometimes work or meet people at a Starbucks, and I feel compelled to buy something so I have a fiscal excuse to use their space. I know Starbucks welcomes everyone regardless of purchase, but I just feel awkward not doing so.
I live in the US, so nobody thinks of Starbucks as a status symbol (some would fervently say that their coffee is bad, so in a way, it IS a status symbol for coffee drinkers that you have a philistine palate). It’s everywhere, it has free Wi-Fi, and it’s convenient. They also give you free stuff if you frequent it enough.
And that’s about it.
Eight O’Clock
I can assure you that in Australia almost nobody would consider that some one drinking the low grade drinks supplied by Starbucks, would be considered to have any positive status.
I do it because Starbucks coats their cocoa beans in alkali which is the main ingredient in alka seltzer and in a skinny frapp with no base, just decaf espresso, skinny mocha mix helps keep the tummy settled along with medication. However we buy beans from Amana Coffee and Tea Company and CoffeeAm which provides awesome flavored coffee. We just freaking love coffee.
Dunkin’
Most people who go to Starbucks don’t go there for the coffee. They go there for the specialty coffee drinks like espresso or mocha. Or some of the special teas.
I live in the Pacific Northwest, very near the place where Starbucks originated. In my experience, very few people see Starbucks as any kind of status symbol. They simply enjoy drinking strong coffee or other coffee based drinks and they think of Starbucks as a quality brand.
I drink black coffee, nothing else. So, if I were to buy ten of those a week at Starbucks I might spend about $1,200 per year there. Other people, who enjoy more expensive lattes or cappuccinos might spend two or even three times that much. The average person living in my area makes something like $60,000 per year. So a $5,000 per year Starbucks habit would indeed seem to be a bit of a significant waste for the average person. However, it is much less of a waste than a cigarette habit. People can waste their money in many frivolous ways without that amounting to a status symbol.
I buy Starbucks because it’s convenient when I’m out, and I’ve finished up the cup of coffee I made at the house.
Also…I get free gift cards for there.
AND, I own stock in the company.
And it’s consistent. Consistently less strong than mom and pop places, typically, but…you know what you’re getting.