Starbucks China ends free seating, requiring purchases at 8,000 cafes

Starbucks China now asks customers to buy something before they can sit down in its cafés, a rule that covers its roughly 8,000 stores across mainland China. (Some customers, like pregnant women and people with mobility issues, will still get “priority support,” the company said in the announcement on Oct. 21)

Social media reaction to the move was largely positive. “Starbucks is in the business of selling beverages, not operating as a free study room,” wrote one user on Weibo, a platform similar to X. “Seats are resources provided to customers, not something that can be occupied without any conditions.”

Starbucks China also said it will invest over 300 million yuan ($44.9 million) to upgrade the store experience as part of a broader “Third Place Initiative”. The investment includes greater staffing for locations during peak hours. 

The change comes as Starbucks faces increasing competition in China. In 2022, fellow coffee chain Luckin Coffee surpassed Starbucks in store count; Luckin also became the first coffee brand to reach 10,000 stores in China. The Xiamen-based company, founded in 2017, built its business on affordable coffee and mobile ordering, and won over younger consumers.

Starbucks generated $3.6 billion in revenue from China in its 2021 fiscal year. Revenue then slipped over the following years, due to COVID disruptions and new competition; Starbucks reported $3.2 billion in China revenue for the 2025 fiscal year. 

Starbucks eventually decided to let someone else take the reins. In November 2025, it announced that it was selling a 60% stake in its China operations to Boyu Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm. “We are positioning the business to serve more customers, enter more cities, and strengthen our leadership in a dynamic and evolving market,” said Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ CEO, in a statement at the time. The deal closed in April 2026; Starbucks no longer discloses China numbers in its earnings.

Order if you want to sit

Starbucks outlets worldwide are trying to manage people who occupy seats without buying anything. 

In early 2025, Starbucks revised its open-door policy that previously allowed everyone to be invited into their stores regardless of whether they had made a purchase or not. At the time, a Starbucks spokesperson said they would be prioritizing paying customers and that most other retailers already had similar rules in place. The spokesperson added that Starbucks hoped the move would create an environment where people felt welcomed and safe at their stores. 

In August 2025, Starbucks Korea also updated its policy to ban bulky items from its stores. Previously, Korean patrons were setting up remote offices in Starbucks outlets, even bringing desktop computers and printers”. Starbucks Korea—which is majority owned by E-Mart, a Shinsegae Group affiliate, and Singapore’s GIC—said that “while laptops and smaller personal devices are welcome, customers are asked to refrain from bringing desktop computers, printers, or other bulky items that may limit seating and impact the shared space.”