Today while sitting at the cafe, enjoying Newyorker cheececafe with Mocha (kind of American style sweet sugar combo), observing shopping environment behavior and observing clientele, I slowly started to think what are the relationships between shopping and coffee and cafe culture. Observing is good way to get to know customers and their styles, but involving, making conversation and speaking about ideas and sharing them is important as well.. After cafe and some grocery shopping and during walk with our dog, I started to think about my favorite cafes and times how much I've spent in them. Kind of remembering many of those places that I've been and then started to make some related conclusions. I tried to make connections, quite visible and clear as well, to our dept store project. There are connections of course and coffee culture is already existing in Turku, Finland as well. There are popular cafes like Art cafe, Cafe Brahe and Arnolds chains and there use to be Wayne's caffee shops as well. And there are of course many smaller and also new cafe's in city center and by the river. But these are different from other cafes abroad.
For example in Italy there are cafe bars everywhere. People stop often,usually several times a day, stand by the bar and take a espresso, doppio, machiato or strong ristretto between whatever they are doing. It does not cost much and does not take long time, around 1 eur and few minutes. This rhytm, lifestyle or habit of taking a regular caffeine dose to fuel and give energy momentum is clearly seen while shopping and in urban environment. In Venice, Rome, Florence and Milan there is very vibrant and active cafe and of course shopping culture. International as well. Also in shopping centers all over the world, there are cafes near the shops, different times are spent in cafes and drinks vary surely. Starbucks is a huge chain behind the big sea and there are several chains in Thailand, even in Vietnam there is popular and American style Highland cafe chain as our friend Kim knows.
Our project dept store has an award winning cafe bar next to corner entrance, so this cafe culture is already welcomed by the store and taken to an account as well, but is it fully exploited, I ques not yet.. It does not seem to attract all potential so far, inspite of excellent special coffees that they make professionally. Marketing is not very visible yet, it's not crowded. Young people seem to be there where the other youngsters are, like in Arnolds, Brahe cafe and today upper floor of Hansa. Standing by the bar and sipping a coffee quickly does not seem to be our national style either, but will it be soon or in the future? Of course we cannot compare the Italian and Finnish cafe cultures equally as price for coffee in Finland is between 2 and 4 € and in Italy it's between 1 and 2 €, so it's not a big deal to stop for a cup and then other stop after a while. Also there is already a cafe tradition in Italy.
Surely coffee and caffeine gives energy and lowers barriers to shop, it makes shopping decision making quicker and feeds positive feeling, to some it increases nervousness and does not relax at all. But overall it has that impact that is needed to continue and do shopping as everyone needs energy.
Most of the people in Finland drink coffee and so it's evident that caffeine belong to modern shopping centers and shopping culture also. Are there this coffee tribe or is it still in the birth bed? Would the cafe or coffee tribe be attractive target in the future if such exist?
Few years ago in St. Petersburg, there was a summer campaign in McDonalds with frozen small milky espresso and all the young people were enjoying them, it was a hit! I enjoyed it even few times during Nevski Prospekt shopping and walking. Would Finnish customers need such a caffeine push to shop more and become more attracted to store that offers such as an extra service? Hm.. I see Nespresso and also Paulig automatic machines one way to promote this kind of shopping with coffee break style, but it maybe should be well branded and perfectly made to meet the wanted image and fit to that particular stores style.
In book Myymäläympäristö elämysten tuottajana in Finnish language by Susanne Markkanen, there are something already related to this issue as it's about the shopping environment and shop design guide, but to offer espressos to clothing store buyers is quite new to dept stores in Finland, except irregularily in some better home departments or quality food markets while coffee machines are presented.. In Mylly, Brothers store, who sells mens clothes, had and maybe still has this free espresso service to customers in use. Personally I enjoy playing with this idea and I've seen that it increases sales. But how about other consumers and young people in general, would it attract them as well and would if fit to their needs? Would this service need clear targeting to attract buying customers, so that there are not just those looking for a free drink and not buy anything?
Saki
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