Starbucks to Make its Store more Accessible with New Design

Starbucks Coffee Company has announced that it is creating a more accessible store experience across its U.S. store portfolio through an Inclusive Spaces Framework.

Building on the company’s commitment to inclusion, the new design framework defines how Starbucks will help expand independence, choice and ease for all people across physical and digital spaces.

The first store to be built using the inclusive design framework opens today in Washington, D.C. and features items such as optimized acoustics and lighting for improved visual and audible communication for customers and accessible equipment designs for a better partner (employee) experience among other features. 

The Inclusive Spaces Framework was created in partnership with a diverse community of customers, partners and accessibility experts to develop scalable solutions for retail spaces. Moving forward, all newly built and renovated Starbucks company-operated stores in the U.S. will begin to incorporate the framework, a key milestone in ensuring Starbucks continues to expand accessibility and inclusion. The framework will also be open sourced and further developed to help expand accessibility across the retail industry.    
“At Starbucks, we have challenged ourselves to imagine what’s possible when we take a closer look at the many ways our partners and customers interact with us and experience our stores every day,” said Katie Young, senior vice president of store operations. “Building and scaling an Inclusive Store Framework is central to our mission of connection and will lead to greater access for all.” 
An estimated one in four adults in the United States has a disability and Starbucks is working to better meet the needs of its partners, customers and communities. The Inclusive Spaces Framework is already intentionally embedded into the company’s rapid store growth plans in the U.S.    

As Laxman Narasimhan, chief executive officer of Starbucks, shared during the recent Q1 FY24 earnings call, the company is bullish on new store openings and their strong unit economics. Starbucks plans to continue open more stores, growing by approximately 4% this year in the U.S. on a base of over 16,000, including licensed stores.

Further, new company-operated stores in the U.S. are averaging unit volumes of approximately $2 million with ROIs of approximately 50%. With strong unit economics and abundant opportunity ahead, new store growth in the U.S. will continue to fuel the company’s Triple Shot strategy. 

Starbucks Debuts Inclusive Spaces Framework in Washington, D.C. Store on Feb. 16 

The first Starbucks store to be built using the Inclusive Spaces Framework guidelines opens on Friday, Feb. 16. in Washington, D.C., at Union Market (331 N Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002).

“Starbucks opening of their new store built with inclusive design elements is a big moment as we try to make retail spaces more accessible and inclusive,” said Tony Coelho, a former U.S. congressman, primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “We have to go beyond just what is required to put accessibility and inclusion first to ensure all people feel like they belong in community spaces.”