Sometimes, the smell of coffee just changes the vibe. On a lazy Sunday, it encourages people to linger a little longer over breakfast; in an airport, it might hurry travelers along. Such effects, along with the other images and senses that coffee can convey, are part of why more and more retailers are including some sort of coffee bar in their stores, even if the products they sell have nothing to do with the caffeinated beverage.
For a furniture retailer called Lichen for example, adding a coffee bar transformed the feel in the shop, from a sort of gallery where people would observe the beautiful objects to a comfy lounge where customers feel like they have permission to sit on the couches and try out the lounge chairs. At another store, described as a sort of modern-day newsstand, the coffee offerings transform the space more evidently into a local meeting place, where people might linger to discuss the news or share their latest movie recommendations.
But the coffee being served is not just some instant mix or drip brew. Rather, the retailers work with specialty roasters to develop personalized blends, matched to their locations, brand image, or target consumers. The Maglia Rosa shop sells mainly Italian-designed bicycles, so of course its coffee is evocative of the strong brews available in Italian cafes. In turn, some of these retailers enjoy a nice sales bump from customers who visit mainly for the tasty drinks. The furniture store Lichen notes that it even earns up to 20 percent of its sales from coffee, pastries, and other beverages.
Many of these smaller stores maintain a corner bar to sell the beverages, but other, larger stores offer up full cafes, such as the ones shoppers can find in several Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren shops. Here again, some customers come just for the coffee, and even for these international brands, that’s just fine. Even if they only buy a $5 cup of coffee, these consumers still are being exposed to the brands’ offerings. If a particularly good-looking shirt catches a shopper’s eye one day, what is to stop them from buying it? But if they have never stopped by for a hot cup of joe, they never would have had the opportunity to see it in the first place.
Discussion Question:
- Why are retailers putting coffee shops in their stores?
Source: Caitlin Wolper, The New York Times, December 23, 2019