No Order, No Seat: Starbucks China Makes Purchase Mandatory for Café Seating

Starting Thursday, anyone who wants to sit down in a Starbucks in China will have to buy something first. The rule applies across all of the company's roughly 8,000 stores in the country, and it was formally announced on Wednesday, after several days of reports and social media videos showing what appeared to be "purchase to sit" signs inside branches.

Starbucks China framed the change as part of an effort to improve the "in-store experience." The company did not present it as a crackdown so much as a way to make seats available to people who are actually spending money, especially at busy times.

The policy lands in a market where Starbucks is under real pressure. China became its second-largest market after the first store opened there in 1999. But cheaper local brands have taken ground in recent years, and none more than Luckin Coffee. In 2023, Luckin overtook Starbucks as China's largest coffee chain. Its app-based ordering system is built around grab-and-go purchases, a contrast with Starbucks' model of a full café where customers settle in with their drinks and food.

The seating rule also follows moves elsewhere. In North America, Starbucks reversed an open-door policy that had for years let people use its seats and toilets without buying anything, saying it wanted to prioritise paying customers. In South Korea, the company asked customers to stop bringing "bulky items" into stores, after patrons reportedly occupied seats with printers and desktop computers. Starbucks China is now following the same direction.

There had been signs of friction in China already. Last month, a Starbucks store in Sichuan province drew debate after video circulated showing its outdoor tables and seats chained up, apparently to stop people from sitting there without paying.

Reaction on Chinese social media has leaned supportive. One of the most-liked comments on Weibo said there would finally be no more peak periods with people sitting without ordering, drinking Luckin coffee, playing games and shouting on the phone, adding that every time the writer walked around, there was nowhere to sit. Another user said there was nothing wrong with the rule, that they would feel awkward sitting without buying, and that they would rather leave seats for those who had made a purchase and needed them.

The company's business is also in transition. Last year Starbucks said it would sell a 60% stake of its China business to the investment firm Boyu Capital, in a deal worth $4bn (£3.04bn).

In a second statement on Wednesday, Starbucks China said it plans to increase staffing and improve digital systems in its stores, among other investments, to ensure customers receive timely and warm service even during peak hours.

What to watch now is whether the rule actually eases crowding at busy times, and whether the promised staffing and digital upgrades help Starbucks win back ground from Luckin and other local rivals.