The Coffee Giant You May See Less Of In 2026

In big cities, you've probably become accustomed to seeing a Starbucks every few blocks. In shopping centers, it's not uncommon for a Starbucks kiosk to be inside a grocery store, with a brick-and-mortar location situated across the parking lot. In 2026, this may change. The coffee giant has announced that it will be cutting back on store locations — and it has already started.

For years, Starbucks' growth strategy predominantly focused on expanding its store presence, and it has done a really good job at that. Starbucks exists in over 80 countries with around 32,000 stores. Maybe it's done too good a job: The primary reason cited for closing locations in CEO Brian Niccol's announcement was that some stores have been underperforming. Niccol did not mention this in his letter, but Starbucks now faces competition from up-and-coming chains, like 7 Brew and Black Rock Coffee Bar, which likely contribute to lower performance from its wide network of stores. 

Niccol's update, released at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025, on the Starbucks website reads, "During the review, we identified coffeehouses where we're unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don't see a path to financial performance, and these locations will be closed." In plain terms, Starbucks plans on closing around 1% of all store locations in America. Most closures will take place in large metro areas; in New York City, 42 stores have already shut down since the announcement.

There's a second prong to Starbucks' updated strategy. The company will be investing in stores that don't currently meet corporate standards. The announcement detailed this objective, stating, "Over the next 12 months, we also plan to uplift more than 1,000 locations to introduce greater texture, warmth, and layered design." Starbucks makes most of its money from physical stores (not from retailers or outlets where its coffee is sold), so, logically, improving how customers experience the cafe is a priority.

The customer experience will be getting another upgrade, too. The company stated it will be staffing more employees in busier stores or those with expanded hours. If one of the things that bothers you about Starbucks is overly busy stores and long waits for drinks, having additional baristas behind the counter will help. That said, this change comes with a cost, as the company has let go of 900 employees who do not work in-store.

The September 2025 announcement made a brief hint at "innovation to create the future" in stores. We've seen a lot of big-name chains from Chipotle to McDonald's bring AI and robots back-of-house, so maybe the future of Starbucks includes AI voice recognition in drive-thrus or robot baristas. However, Niccol offered no further details on what this futuristic angle might look like.