Overview

• Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, Brian Niccol said Starbucks will reinstall hundreds of thousands of seats in cafés, a sharp increase from an earlier 30,000-seat target.
• Niccol reiterated his aim for Starbucks to become the greatest customer service company, casting superior hospitality as the key to winning value-seeking customers.
• The next phase includes redesigning 1,000 company-operated cafés in North America, revamping the pastry lineup with more artisanal, protein-forward options, and returning ceramic mugs to stores.
• After observing crowded mobile-order pickup zones displacing seating, Starbucks is reevaluating order timing and pickup flows to free floor space for customers to sit.
• Company data cited by Niccol shows gains in speed, order accuracy, hospitality, and value perceptions led by Gen Z and millennial customers, even as U.S. same-store sales and transactions have fallen across several quarters.