Why does every retailer have a coffee shop now?

Shoppers at Uniqlo in New York City can now purchase a matcha and a cold brew alongside their new pair of work trousers.

As of March 14, Uniqlo’s Midtown store is the first North American location of the Japanese-owned fashion brand to open a Uniqlo Coffee. The cafe, owned by Uniqlo, serves a standard beverage menu including coffee, espresso beverages, cold brew, and matcha, as well as hot chocolate and orange juice. It’s located inside the store itself, with the same sleek, monochromatic branding as the retail sections.

Uniqlo is one of several other everyday luxury retailers—like Muji, Aritzia, and Ralph Lauren—that have likewise opened their own branded coffee shops. It’s the modern-day, status-signaling version of a Starbucks inside a Barnes & Noble; turning the store itself into a kind of third place for shoppers to gather in an attempt to earn the coveted reputation of a “lifestyle brand” rather than merely a clothing store. 

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Why every retailer has a coffee shop now

Uniqlo Coffee may be new in the U.S., but it’s already a staple at Uniqlo locations in Asia, including in Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Malaysia. These locations tend to have extended menus that also offer small snack foods with local touches. At the Manila global flagship store, for example, shoppers can find melon buns, hojicha gelato, strawberry mint tea, and a cookie butter cheesecake on top of the standard coffee offerings. 

Brands within Uniqlo’s niche of elevated basics have already found success in North America with starting their own coffee shops. Artizia’s A-OK Cafe, which serves coffee, tea, and pastries, has expanded to 11 locations in Canada and recently opened two new stores in Chicago and New York City. Ralph Lauren’s Ralph’s Coffee can be found in multiple New York locations as well as both Europe and Asia, where it sells sweet treats alongside merch like a Ralph’s-branded tumbler or a ball cap. And the Japanese retailer Muji recently opened a full-on food hall inside NYC’s Chelsea Market, where a robot barista named Jarvis will bring you a black sesame latte on wheels.

The coffee shop trend is just another expression of many trendy retailers’ desire to become known as a “lifestyle brand,” or a brand that transcends its actual products to encompass a whole vibe or aesthetic—think Erewhon releasing a $335 sweatsuit, or Sweetgreen starting its own merch-based loyalty program. An added bonus to the physical coffee shop concept is that it plays into Gen Z’s desire to gather in third places post-pandemic, a trend that formerly DTC-only brands like Chamberlain Coffee have also embraced by debuting an actual in-person shop.

Market calculation aside, it’s a well-known fact that shopping is simply more enjoyable with an ice-cold beverage in hand (and it might even keep you browsing those aisles a bit longer.) The A-OK Cafe website spells it out pretty clearly: “Don’t let snack-free shopping happen to you.”

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