Definitions :
Fidelity generally refers to the whole experience, the whole package so to speak. For example, you pay hundreds for a fine dining meal not just for the food, but also for the people around,the ambience and of course the service provided.
Convenience on the other hand means easy to get. You place way lesser emphasis on the quality or even the service, considering that you just want it instantly, nothing else matters.
So as the title suggest, fidelity and convenience are parallel terms, they will never and should never meet one another. One of the biggest mistake that Starbucks has made is that it is trying to put them together like Yin & Yang.
People give up fidelity for convenience and vice versa, but they will never settle for so-so fidelity and so-so convenience. It just doesn't seems right to them.
A few reasons why Starbucks is failing :
1.As economist and author Tyler Cowen told me: "Once Starbucks became ordinary, it was committing suicide."
2.People looking for convenience saw less reason to pay Starbucks' prices.
1. Speaking from my personal experience, I have to agree that once Starbucks become a commodity, people will not pay exorbitant prices for the drink itself anymore. In my country, Singapore, there can be as many as 3 Starbucks within a distance of 100m.
So, one day, as I was walking down the streets, I saw a Starbucks, I still retain the urge to get myself a nice cup of coffee to reward myself for a good day of performance. But on the way there, I thought to myself, okay, why not I buy it later since there is another Starbucks outlet down the street? So here I go, walking down the street and then I saw another outlet, but at this point in time, I contemplated again, I was thinking to myself, I'm not exactly thirsty right now and besides the coffee is pretty expensive, so why not I walk abit more before I come back again for my coffee? But as I was walking, I saw this awesome restaurant that serves Bombay's coffee, the idea was fresh and the concept was nifty, the layout was posh as well, and without any deliberation, I went in for my coffee.
The above experience of mine highlights the fact that Starbucks' new found convenience has led to much procrastination and deliberation on the purchase of their drinks. People starts to contemplate considerably as compared to the past. Starbucks' outlets, being so near one another, has caused others to think that they can simply walk back if they want to get a cup of coffee. Conversely, in the past, they are so far away from one another, if you miss this stop, you will have to spend a lot of time walking back for this extravagant fidelity. Therefore, you will not even hesitate to rush in for a cup of coffee, bathing yourself in a pool of mellifluous music.
2. People looking for convenience are not willing to pay such high prices for a drink anymore. Personally, I will rather save up the money and head towards the supermarket for a packet of fresh milk or a can of coke. The convenience factor has driven down the fidelity of Starbucks. It does not seems to be as prestigious as before. You neither feel exclusive nor luxurious at Starbucks anymore, especially when it is so empty nowadays. It seems like a commoner's drink at any coffee shop which everyone can afford.
The quality of the drink starts to drop, the taste of it seems to be ordinary and mundane, and the layout of the coffee club seems sloppy as compared to the posh layout of some other coffee clubs.
The truth is that if people wants convenience, they will probably head down towards the supermarket or Mcdonalds for a hot cup of coffee. Starbucks outlets being so ubiquitous nowadays has totally killed off the unique experience it once provides. Being so easily accessible, people are no longer enticed at the sight of Starbucks because it seems like just another boring outlet they see everyday.
The people at the city wants something fresh, novelty and eye-catching. They want to have a leverage in social status in the activities they engage in and having a cup of coffee at Starbucks is no longer fresh, novelty nor prestigious anymore. And when it comes down to that, people compare Starbucks with CoffeeBean, Mcdonalds and Wal-Mart for a drink because they are basing their decision on convenience and not fidelity anymore.
Credits -money.cnn.com, -menupages, -voicesweb, -farm3, -rohan, -
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