The CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, says the coffee chain is aiming for 100 percent seating capacity by the end of May for all of its stores.
“We have been guided by the CDC, and certainly local government restrictions in COVID, but I think we are going to see in the United States, we are going to continue to see this expansion,” Johnson said, according to The Hill.
The coffee shop currently sits at 60 percent capacity but is expected to make a complete comeback. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the coffee chain’s sales because customers could not partake in Starbucks’ lodgelike experience.
According to the Nasdaq, Starbucks did see gains in use of its mobile application during the pandemic. BuzzFeed News reported 26 percent of orders were mobile orders from Jan. through March 2021 — an 18 percent increase in those types of orders from a year before.
Many companies are reevaluating their safety protocols as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rolls out new guidelines. As more people begin to get vaccinated, Johnson said he hopes that Starbucks will become their “third place” of business.
Johnson stated, “I would expect all stores across the country will have some form of limited seating, and as the vaccine continues to be distributed, and as we see COVID cases continue to decline, that going to return that third place experience that we all know and love.”
He concluded, “Certainly with this new world of hybrid work where workers are sometimes working from home, sometimes in the office, that visit to Starbucks, and even having that third place, whether it is to sit and share coffee with a family member or colleague, but also to do some work is going to be alive and well.”
Source: Newmax
