Starbucks rules in Japan too

MyVoice carried out a survey of its community at the start of this month to see what they thought about self-service (counter service only) coffee shops. 16,311 people, 46% male, completed their internet questionnaire. 3% were teenagers, 24% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 24% in their forties, and 12% fifty years old or over.

Japan is apparently the only country in the world (sorry, I can’t find a definite statement of the statistics) where the Coca-Cola Company make more money (or sell more by volume, or something) with a drink other than their signature fizzy brown bevarage, namely their line of Georgia canned coffee, which are, on the whole, either over-sugary, over-milky (a friend got kidney stones from drinking six or eight cans a day and hardly any other liquids, bar beer) or over-bitter for my taste.

Also note that in Japan there is little tradition of carrying out a cup of coffee from a shop. Even around Starbucks, almost no-one will drink their coffee anywhere bar the shop; I personally can only recall one time seeing a Japanese person carrying a coffee cup onto a train, for instance.

Finally, most coffee shops are still smoking. Starbucks is non-smoking throughout (except for seating outside, if available), but other chains often have perhaps only have a quarter or less reserved for non-smokers, and little effective segregation. However, note the last question, about why people like their particular favourite chain – only 9.5% choose smoking segregation (all non-smoking was not an option) as a plus, at most just a fifth of the Starbucks fans, versus 9% who choose that smoking is allowed, which is again just about a fifth of those with a favourite other than Starbucks.

I seem to have written far too much about Starbucks already! I’m much more a tea and table service man myself.

Q1: Which drinks do you usually drink a lot of? (Sample size=16,311, multiple answer)

Coffee	77.1%
Green tea	54.2%
Brown tea	43.6%
Milk, milk-based drinks	31.7%
Oolong Tea	30.8%
Cocoa	24.8%
Fruit juice, fruit drinks	21.1%
Mineral water	20.0%
Sports drinks	19.9%
Fizzy drinks	17.5%
Other	6.8%
Nothing in particular	1.3%

Q2: About how often do you visit a self-service coffee shop? (Sample size=16,311)

Almost every day	2.6%
Three or four times a week	3.6%
Once or twice a week	11.2%
Two or three times a month	21.9%
Once a month or less	42.2%
Never	18.6%

Note that people may visit coffee shops but drink something other than coffee.

Q3: At what times do you visit self-service coffee shops? (Sample size=approximately 13,277, self-service coffee shop users, multiple answer)

When I want a rest	46.5%
To chat with friends	32.9%
Just to pass the time	29.3%
For snacks	29.0%
When my throat is dry	24.8%
To change the/my mood	22.4%
To eat lunch	16.9%
Don’t know why!	14.6%
When I want a smoke	9.2%
To eat breakfast	8.8%
Business discussions, meetings, other work	5.4%
To read	4.8%
To study	2.9%
To eat evening meal	1.8%
To use PC	1.4%
Other	2.4%
No answer	1.3%

Q4: What self-service coffee shops have you used? (Sample size=approximately 13,277, self-service coffee shop users, multiple answer)

Starbucks	82.1%
Doutor Coffee	78.8%
Tully’s Coffee	32.4%
Saint Marc Cafe	30.5%
Pronto Caffe	25.9%
Excelsior Caffe	25.6%
Caffe Veloce	22.0%
Cafe de Crie	15.7%
Cafe Colorado	7.4%
Other	9.1%
No answer	1.4%

Q5: What self-service coffee shop chain do you like the most? (Sample size=approximately 13,277, self-service coffee shop users, multiple answer)

Starbucks	34.1%
Doutor Coffee	19.7%
Tully’s Coffee	3.9%
Saint Marc Cafe	3.3%
Excelsior Caffe	2.7%
Caffe Veloce	2.5%
Pronto	1.4%
Cafe de Crie	1.3%
Cafe Cororado	0.3%
Other	1.4%
None in particular	27.7%
No answer	1.7%

Q6: For what reasons do you like that self-service coffee shop chain the most? (Sample size=approximately 9,374, those with favourite self-service coffee shop, multiple answer)

Drink taste or quality is good	45.0%
Reasonable prices	40.8%
Good atmosphere in shop	37.1%
Easy to enter shop interior	25.3%
Good access	17.5%
Comfortable	17.2%
Food taste or quality is good	16.2%
Varied menu	14.3%
Originality of menu	10.6%
Smoking is segregated	9.5%
Smoking is allowed	9.0%
Don’t know why!	8.7%
Good service	8.7%
Shop brand	8.2%
Points or promotions	1.3%
Other	1.9%
Nothing in particular	1.9%
No answer	0.4%