Brian Niccol’s two-headed vision for the Starbucks of the future — with both faster thruput and an emphasis on third-place — is closer to coming to fruition. In an interview with Good Morning America, the new CEO of the Seattle-based coffee chain reiterated that even though the company is bringing back handwritten names on cups and adding more seating, Starbucks will also focus on wait time optimization.
"I think what you're going to see is a very orderly mobile order business with its own dedicated pickup area," Niccol said about what Starbucks might look like in five years. "You're going to have an experience where when you walk in and you interact with the barista, it's going to be really quick for that brewed cup of coffee. My hope is we can get you a brewed cup of coffee in less than 30 seconds."
Niccol added that his team is “right now” working on a technology solution that will make mobile order wait times much more accurate.
"Today, you know, we just kind of give you an estimate, 'Hey, it'll be ready in three to five minutes,’” Niccol said. “In the future, what'll happen is we'll be like, 'Rebecca, your drink will be ready at nine,' instead of it just being made, sitting on the counter [and] waiting for people to come."
The eventual goal is to get handcrafted drink orders out in under four minutes, though for that to happen, the company may need to shrink its current menu size, with Niccol adding that they’re “going to do fewer things, but we’re going to do fewer things better.”
The imminent menu simplification at Starbucks is not news, as Niccol had previously stated that he wants to pare down the now-unwieldy Starbucks menu to focus on core drinks with better quality and consistency.
As previously stated in the company’s last earnings call, Niccol reiterated that Starbucks will not be raising prices in 2025, with an opportunity in the future “to simplify the pricing architecture” and improve pricing transparency on the mobile app.
Brian Niccol was announced as the new CEO of Starbucks in August, replacing Laxman Narasimhan in September after a 17-month rocky tenure as head of the coffee chain.
In Starbucks’ latest earnings report, the company had a 7% global same-store sales decline. Though Niccol is confident in the future direction of the company, Starbucks has suspended fiscal guidance for the year 2025.
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