Extra! Extra! Starbucks will stop selling newspapers
It's the amazing Starbucks experience: Go in, order a hot cup of coffee and sit back with a newspaper.
Or, at least, it was the way it used to be in an earlier time. Now, in September, you won't be able to buy newspapers at the coffee giant's stores.
The company said this week that it would stop carrying print editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the United States today and local newspapers in its 8,600 locations across the country.
Starbucks did not give reason for the change, but said it would also remove shelf fixtures showing full-bean coffee and grab and go snacks.
We always look at what we offer our customers in our stores and make adjustments in our portfolio based on changing customer behavior, says Sanja Gould, a company spokesman, in a statement Friday.
Starbucks expects the changes to be completed by the end of September.
Jordan Cohen, a spokesman for The Times, said in a statement: "Although we are disappointed with the decision, we are confident that we have received a broad retail, readers will not have trouble finding The New York Times
The journal discussed other ways Starbucks customers could get access to the publication, said Colleen Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Dow Jones, a sister company of The Journal.
It was unclear whether the sale had anything to do with Starbucks decision.
The print circulation has declined across the country, according to data published in July by the Pew Research Center.
The organization estimates that in 2018, the total daily circulation in the United States, which includes both digital and print platforms, was 28.6 million for weekdays and 30.8 million for Sundays. These figures were down 8 per cent and 9 per cent from the previous year.
The Times Times average print circulation in 2018 was around 487,000 on weekdays and 992,000 on Sundays, Cohen said. The journal's average circulation is just over a million, said Mrs Schwartz.
Coffee and macchiato drinkers at Starbucks Manhattan stores had mixed reactions to the news.
"I think it should still be available," said Dustin Fitzharris. on Friday while sitting on 15th Street and Seventh Avenue location. He suggested that maybe some Starbucks customers want their news the old-fashioned way.
"Not everyone is on their computers," says Fitzharris. "Especially for a certain age demographically. An older demographic can't get in with the iPad or computer. They come in with a book or want to read the newspaper."
"I think it makes sense; it's not a surprise," he said. "I don't think there's any upside to keep the paper. If you look around in this Starbucks, nobody buys a newspaper. It's just another matter of change. Another accident on the internet. "
At least two customers said they had never seen newspapers at Starbucks.
" I am in Starbucks every day in New Jersey and New York, and I don't feel like I see a lot of newspapers on the screen, "said Lisa Kelly, who was waiting for someone in eighth avenue and 39th Street location.
She said she usually goes to Starbucks once a day, sometimes twice, and that she would be inclined to read a newspaper if You were there.
"I've never seen them sell them," Jeff Grubb said in the same place. "Honest, never. I've been to many Starbucks in my life. I think they should sell them. The Washington Post, the New York Times, they should be here. "[IthinkitwouldbesmartforStarbuckstoofferthingstoread"GrubbsaidStarbucksinhisopinionmustuphis"game"oritwillbe"extinguishedsoon"
"They are Like McDonald's now, it's a bit of a past, "he said.
