Starbucks China to require purchases before café seating opens nationwide

Starbucks China will require customers to make a purchase before sitting in its cafés, introducing the policy across all 8,000 stores from Thursday. The company says the change is intended to improve the in-store experience as it competes with cheaper local coffee chains.

The rule follows complaints about people occupying seats without ordering, and many users on Chinese social media supported it. Luckin Coffee overtook Starbucks as China’s largest coffee chain in 2023, with an app-based model geared towards takeaway orders. Starbucks also plans to increase staffing and improve digital systems, and last year agreed to sell a 60% stake in its China business to Boyu Capital in a $4bn deal.