Starbucks China to Require Purchases for Seating Starting October 22

The significance here is less about coffee than about tightening the economics of physical retail space in China: a nationwide seating rule signals that foot traffic alone no longer justifies the real estate. It affects casual occupants and remote workers as much as paying customers, and it lands against a backdrop of cautious consumer spending in the market. Whether other chains follow with their own seating policies is the open question, and how enforcement is handled at store level will shape the customer reaction.