Reflective journal on coffee shop visits in Singapore: Starbucks and Gloria Jeans comparison

¶ … Starbucks and Gloria Jeans in Singapore. The focus will be on the marketing elements of these two stores. For Starbucks, the store visited was in Raffles City. The Gloria Jeans was in Suntec City Galleria. The focus of the report will be on describing the elements of the marketing mix, including product, price and promotion. A table will be presented, and then there will be descriptions of the findings. Last, an analysis and conclusions will be presented about the marketing traits of these two coffee shop chains.

Reflective Journal

Starbucks. Exit the MRT and the Starbucks is visible right away. There is a counter in front and a large store with indoor seating area, and a door to the outside. This is a busy area, and there are a lot of customers both European and Asian. The colours have a lot of browns, and some bland, background art on the walls. The staff are friendly, and smiling. I ordered a grand mocha Frappuccino and sat down. The prices for most items are fairly high, much higher than for kopi ais, lah! Beverage is cold, sweet, not much coffee taste. The customers are mainly businesspeople, and maybe some tourists from the hotel. There are signs that promote the new Blonde Roast, and there are promotional displays for different beans that are on special. The counter where you order is cluttered with different things for sale. There is food, too, mostly pastries.

Gloria Jeans. This shop has a more open plan than the Starbucks, but again everything is very brown. Coffee-coloured, I guess. The counter is set back and I entered the store. There are fewer customers than at the Starbucks. I order a Mocha Chiller Cocoa Loco. It looks a lot like the Frappuccino I just had at Starbucks, dark brown and with whipped cream. Tastes sweeter. Quite expensive. The promotion here is similar to Starbucks, but with fewer signs. They also have displays of various items for impulse purchase. They promote Rainforest Alliance. Overall, the design seems similar to Starbucks, but maybe not as slick-looking. But a similar experience. Friendly, smiling staff here too.

Comparison Between Starbucks and Gloria Jeans

Starbucks

Gloria Jeans

Product

Coffee drinks

Frozen coffee drinks

Light snacks

Coffee beans to go

Coffee drinks

Frozen coffee drinks

Snacks

Coffee beans to go

Price

High prices on just about everything

High prices on just about everything

Promotion

New coffee roast

Chalkboards

POP displays

Rainforest Alliance

Chalkboards

Signage

POP displays

Place

Mall location

Brown furniture, cheap looking but comfortable

Bland art on wall

Mall location

Cheap brown decor

Bland art

Comparison Analysis

Probably the most interesting thing is not the differences between these two companies' shops, but their similarities. I found the biggest differences were in the products, but even then the difference was not so significant. With respect to product, both shops sold roughly the same product lineup. Starbucks has fewer items, which makes ordering easier. Both shops were allowing customers to customize their orders, but the practice is more prevalent at Starbucks. It possible, it seems that the Gloria Jean's menu items were of somewhat lower quality and more sugary/fattening, but both companies are oriented towards the snack/dessert side of the spectrum, along with regular coffee. On these visits, I did not try food but have in the past and was not impressed with the food at either location.

The pricing at the two companies is similar. Both companies have relatively high prices, certainly relative to a more Singaporean-style coffee experience. Ideally, this would translate to higher quality, in order to justify the pricing. There are some products where this is the case, like the bags of special Sumatran beans that Starbucks had for sale. But for the most part, the quality level seemed not to be at the level of the prices. The experience and the novelty of the Western-style coffee shop seems to account for some of the pricing.

Both shops take advantage of the captive audience to promote other menu items. Displays of food at Starbucks are a good example, since the lineup to order coffee makes you stand in front of the food display. At the cash register, both shops have multiple small point-of-purchase displays to encourage impulse buying. There are chalkboards as well, highlighting seasonal or sale items, to call attention to these products and encourage their sale.

Not surprisingly, because it's Singapore, these shops are located in malls. These are high traffic areas, and the shops are situated to maximize walk-by traffic. Arguably, the layout of the Gloria Jean's store is better, as it has a more open front to encourage people to come in and relax. The interior decor of both stores is similar. Starbucks has the better location right where the MRT exits and under the Swisshotel. Both shops seek to create a somewhat comfortable atmosphere, but the furnishings are very dull so the vibe is not too luxurious. The Starbucks actually asks you to not linger too long during peak daytime hours, but I guess in the evening customers can stay at the chairs and tables for a long time.

People

The customers for each shop are similar, with a mix of Westerners and locals, which is expected at a Western-style store in a central location. There was a mix of businesspeople and people in street clothes, and the locations had a middle class feel to the customer base. Many customers at each location had laptops or other electronic devices that they were using while patronizing the shop. I also felt that both companies provided a good atmosphere with their staff. They were smiling and seemed well-trained. The Starbucks staff were quicker in making my drink, even though they were busier. This probably is because they are so busy that they have to be very efficient in their jobs. The overall customer service experience was quite satisfactory.

Conclusion

Overall, I probably prefer Starbucks to Gloria Jeans. There is not much to choose between them, but the Starbucks seemed perhaps a little more professional, higher-end experience. The crowd was a big factor, but the drinks seems to have a bit more flavour and not as much sugar (although it was very sugary). The Gloria Jeans was comfortable, but seemed too much like Starbucks, like it was trying to imitate Starbucks rather than being its own thing. That also is an impression I got, whether it is justified or not, and that makes me less likely to go to Gloria Jeans. Overall, I just felt like the high prices were more justified at Starbucks than they were at Gloria Jeans, even though I probably would not patronize either one very often.