Newsletter #56: Shopify news, Starbucks and Diana Nyad

Hi there,

I hope you're feeling good.

Remember how I started running in April? Well, it’s true what they say: it’s addictive. I recently signed up for my first half-marathon… My current record for 10k is 1h03. Do you think I can maintain that pace and finish the half-marathon in 2h15? We’ll see. Wish me luck!

In today's edition, we’re discussing Shopify news, Starbucks and Diana Nyad.

Let's dive in.

Work

What’s up in the Shopify world?

• The login page for the new customer accounts can now be branded

You can brand it using the checkout/accounts editor, or the Branding API.

More improvements are coming soon, such as getting the login page into the Theme Customizer, and adding more granular controls for deviating from the global branding choices.

Congrats Patrick Millegan and team for shipping this!

Discover a quick demo in Patrick’s tweet.

• Kirill Platonov published an insightful article where he presents 4 strategies to deal with Shopify API rate limits

• Taylor Page and Karl Meisterheim interviewed Tobi Lutke on their podcast Liquid Weekly

Inspire

I’ve never been a fan of Starbucks.

As someone who doesn't drink coffee, their products never really appealed to me. And after watching a behind-the-scenes documentary on the company a few years ago, I found their corporate culture just as unappealing.

However, I’ve always had people around me who were avid Starbucks fans, often spending a lot of time there.

Recently, I noticed that those same people had stopped going to Starbucks. Instead, they’d switched to a different local coffee shop and they seemed perfectly happy with that.

Why? What made them switch so naturally without looking back?

Curious, I did some digging and came across a fascinating article on CNN's website.

Written by Nathaniel Meyersohn, this article was published in July 2024 and entitled “A major shift at Starbucks is changing its personality”.

Its first sentence already says a lot: “Years ago, some people would spend hours at Starbucks. Today, it’s a takeout counter. At many Starbucks locations, you’re lucky to find anyone sitting down.”

Why? That’s where it gets interesting.

Originally, Starbucks was a third place. The company aimed at creating a welcoming environment for coffee drinkers and employees with comfortable seating, jazz music and the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee.

However, Starbucks gradually shifted from a sit-down shop to a primarily drive-thru and mobile pickup business.

In 2005, only 15% of Starbucks’ stores were drive-thru locations. Today, 70% of Starbucks locations have a drive-thru option.

In 2014, Starbucks launched its mobile ordering system, which allowed customers to place pickup orders from their smartphones without having to interact with an employee.

Mobile ordering “commoditized” Starbucks by leading it to focus on order volume and efficiency, said Joe Pine, the co-founder of the consultancy firm Strategic Horizons.

Starbucks’ menu changes also had an impact on this shift. Starbucks is less of a coffee shop today and more of an iced tea, coffee, energy drink and lemonade store, especially in the summer, when nearly 80% of the drinks are cold.

To sum up Starbucks’ situation, Tom Cook, a principal at the restaurant consultancy firm King-Casey, says: “Their success has not enabled them to retain what people originally found so attractive about the brand. It’s turned into a transaction business that has very little interpersonal interaction and engagement. Many Starbucks’ stores feel more like a fast-food restaurant than a coffee shop. They had this unique image and personality. That doesn’t exist anymore.”

What is truly fascinating to me about Starbucks’ story is that, in the short term, many of these decisions seemed like smart moves. The introduction of mobile ordering, drive-thru lanes, cold drinks, and the removal of comfortable seating all helped increase revenue. However, over time, they seem to have created long-term damage that will be difficult to reverse.

Learn more in the article on CNN’s website.

Explore

I recently watched the movie “Nyad” on Netflix.

"Nyad" tells the remarkable true story of Diana Nyad, a long-distance swimmer who, at 64 years old, became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.

The movie is based on the 2015 memoir “Find a Way” written by Diana Nyad herself.

I had never heard of Diana Nyad and her exploits so this movie was a complete discovery for me. I had a great time watching it.

“Nyad” is directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. They did an amazing job at capturing the duality of the ocean being both breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly dangerous.

“Nyad” stars Annette Bening as Diana Nyad and Jodie Foster as her best friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll. The two actresses delivered incredible performances. It really felt like Annette Bening and Jodie Foster had known each other for years. The strength of their friendship throughout the highs and lows, and how it gave wings to Diana to pursue her dreams, is outstanding.

Diana Nyad’s ambition, determination and resilience really struck me.

To me, her story is one more giant proof that things are only impossible if you believe they are. Your mindset is what drives you. If you want to achieve extraordinary things, it’s crucial to clear your mind of limiting beliefs. Once you do, you’ll be unstoppable.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this edition until the end.

I'll talk to you soon.

Take good care of yourself.

Coralie