Starbucks:
Spilling the Beans on Conspicuous Consumption
“Starbucks does not owe it’s success to the superiority of it’s coffee […] as much as it relies on it’s aesthetic experience.” (Grazian, 179) An aesthetic experience that has caused brand recognition worldwide, while changing the historic significance of the coffeehouse into the commercial “coffee shop” that can be observed through customer interactions. But while the company has brought a familiar coffee shop experience to the world, consumers of the Starbucks brand are joined together in conspicuous consumption and isolation.
Coffeehouses to Coffee Shops
Coffeehouses can be traced back to the early 1500’s Middle East, the first one opening in Damascus in 1530 (Standage, 2015). These …show more content…
To consume something conspicuously is the act of purchasing or indulging in a luxury good or service in order to boost perceived social prestige. These displays of wealth are meant to show off one’s financial status (whether real or aspired) and in the process construct an image of opulence. This kind of hyper self-awareness and obsession with self-image makes scholars like Arthur Berger wonder if people ““have become so absorbed in manipulating others that [they] don’t recognize that [they] have manipulated [their] own sense of self and [their] own identity.” (90) The idea that one has enough disposable income to spend an average of four dollars on a single drink that will be consumed once and then thrown away is a status symbol of the upper and upper middle class, or those trying to imitate that lifestyle. These consumers subscribe to the idea that they are “better, more informed, more authentic, more committed consumers […] than those others who will settle for lesser brands.” (Vihn, 2015) Companies like Starbucks use this to their advantage by using their customers like billboards, while drawing attention to the gap in wealth of who can afford a regular coffee shop habit and who …show more content…
While never setting foot in a Starbuck’s (which I did find at least five locations in and around Dublin) I did visit their local chain known as Insomnia Coffee. The name drew me in and I found myself there at least twice a week. One thing I noticed about Insomnia Coffee that was different than Starbucks was the way the customers interacted with each other. A few kept to themselves, but most would start up conversations on exchange pleasantries with the next person in line, and continue talking while they waited for their drinks. I was caught in such an exchange a few times and was prepared for it to be an impersonal experience, a filling of empty space with small talk as a polite way to “say something without actually saying anything.” (Vihn, 2015). To my surprise, I was asked about myself and was motivated to ask about them. While I would not call them truly intimate conversations, I think I made more friendly connections in the coffee shop line than I did with my fellow students. I occasionally saw others with the dark red Insomnia Coffee cup, but interestingly, it’s brown paper sleeve nearly covered the entire
Spilling the Beans on Conspicuous Consumption
“Starbucks does not owe it’s success to the superiority of it’s coffee […] as much as it relies on it’s aesthetic experience.” (Grazian, 179) An aesthetic experience that has caused brand recognition worldwide, while changing the historic significance of the coffeehouse into the commercial “coffee shop” that can be observed through customer interactions. But while the company has brought a familiar coffee shop experience to the world, consumers of the Starbucks brand are joined together in conspicuous consumption and isolation.
Coffeehouses to Coffee Shops
Coffeehouses can be traced back to the early 1500’s Middle East, the first one opening in Damascus in 1530 (Standage, 2015). These …show more content…
To consume something conspicuously is the act of purchasing or indulging in a luxury good or service in order to boost perceived social prestige. These displays of wealth are meant to show off one’s financial status (whether real or aspired) and in the process construct an image of opulence. This kind of hyper self-awareness and obsession with self-image makes scholars like Arthur Berger wonder if people ““have become so absorbed in manipulating others that [they] don’t recognize that [they] have manipulated [their] own sense of self and [their] own identity.” (90) The idea that one has enough disposable income to spend an average of four dollars on a single drink that will be consumed once and then thrown away is a status symbol of the upper and upper middle class, or those trying to imitate that lifestyle. These consumers subscribe to the idea that they are “better, more informed, more authentic, more committed consumers […] than those others who will settle for lesser brands.” (Vihn, 2015) Companies like Starbucks use this to their advantage by using their customers like billboards, while drawing attention to the gap in wealth of who can afford a regular coffee shop habit and who …show more content…
While never setting foot in a Starbuck’s (which I did find at least five locations in and around Dublin) I did visit their local chain known as Insomnia Coffee. The name drew me in and I found myself there at least twice a week. One thing I noticed about Insomnia Coffee that was different than Starbucks was the way the customers interacted with each other. A few kept to themselves, but most would start up conversations on exchange pleasantries with the next person in line, and continue talking while they waited for their drinks. I was caught in such an exchange a few times and was prepared for it to be an impersonal experience, a filling of empty space with small talk as a polite way to “say something without actually saying anything.” (Vihn, 2015). To my surprise, I was asked about myself and was motivated to ask about them. While I would not call them truly intimate conversations, I think I made more friendly connections in the coffee shop line than I did with my fellow students. I occasionally saw others with the dark red Insomnia Coffee cup, but interestingly, it’s brown paper sleeve nearly covered the entire