South Korean Starbucks Customers Want Purchase Restrictions During Promotion

Illustration of a Starbucks outlet in South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Chelsea Marie Hicks)

JAKARTA - Starbucks loyal customers in South Korea have urged their favorite coffee shop to limit one person from buying more than one drink during special merchandise promotions.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary on September 28, Starbucks South Korea held a 'Reusable Cup Day' program, to distribute drinks in 'grande' size cups featuring a special design.

The program was originally intended to convey Starbucks' green message, about sustainability and getting more people to drink coffee in reusable cups.

Starbucks South Korea limits drinks to 20 transactions per person, thinking that not many people actually buy the maximum number of drinks.

However, the retailer, which offers limited edition Starbucks goods online at a higher price, showed up at a number of coffee shops in Seoul and ordered as many as possible to collect reusable cups. This caused other customers to wait more than an hour to get their caffeinated drinks.

"This is ridiculous. Next time, Starbucks should limit people, to buy more than one drink at a time," said Lee Dan-bi, a 33-year-old office worker, citing the Korea Times Oct. 1.

This isn't the first time customers have felt uncomfortable when Starbucks South Korea has offered specialty merchandise.

Last year, one reseller bought 300 cups of iced coffee to get 17 'Summer Ready Bags' and throw away all the drinks. At that time, Starbucks required one person to order a total of 17 drinks, including some seasonal drinks, to get a 'Summer Ready Bag' or limited edition camping seat.

Earlier this year, Starbucks introduced a special edition 'Playmobil' figure, which has avid collectors rushing to the coffee shop. Some even got into an argument while waiting to buy a drink, prompting a police response.

Customers may grumble, but Starbucks shows no sign of stopping offering new, seasonal brand items that lead to big profits.

Starbucks Korea saw sales rise 3 percent year-on-year in 2020 to 1.92 trillion won. This is possible despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because people are buying coffee to collect popular items.

Starbucks 50th anniversary reusable cups are already being traded on online second-hand trading platforms such as Jungonara and Danggeun Market. The glasses sell for between 4,000 won and 5,000 won.