Maybe it's my European perspective, but i feel like Starbucks has fallen several levels down in terms of it's price perception. Simply put, they haven't increased their prices like... ever. I remember very well pricing on some items and they are about the same in nominal euros as they were 15-18 years ago. They went from definitely upscale to cheap-ish - not the sheapest, but certainly not premium by any measure. And yes, no more outlets in most locations, and more limited seating. Why is that? idk. I loved it the way it used to be and would pay more to keep it that way.
And yes, certainly the kind of people visiting them as well as the kind of people working there has fallen along with their price niche.
That is not necessarily true all over Europe. In my area prices were increases somewhat recently and I now decided against going there anymore. However, they did not change any seating inside, everything stayed somewhat tge same
Coffee prices in general have been falling for decades. The 2011 price peak was unusual and resulted in far higher prices than in 2001 and makes the current price spike less noticeable. https://dripbeans.com/coffee-price-history/
More efficient farming has largely offset inflation just as with most other agricultural commodities resulting in fairly flat prices over time barring occasional spikes.
Well in a way, all small cafes compete with each other and it doesn't have to be about coffee (and definitely not about raw coffee prices as agri commodity, which are certainly <1% of their gross revenue). Somehow i have to pay twice as much for a burger in many joints, vs 15 years ago, about 1.5x as much for an espresso elsewhere, but exactly as much in Starbucks, and that gets me thinking.
And yes, certainly the kind of people visiting them as well as the kind of people working there has fallen along with their price niche.