Abstract:
The thesis entitled, Consumers' Perception on Starbucks' Experience Economy: A Case
Analysis, studies the concept of experience economy and determines whether this type of
economy actually exists. It gives an analysis on how this fastest emerging trend in the economy
works. It seeks to explain experience economy through evaluating Starbucks coffee company
as one of its examples. It also aims to analyze and evaluate how Starbucks is considered as an
experience economy.
Experience economy, according to Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s The Experience
Economy: Work Is 'Theatre & Every Business a Stage, is a new economic trend where
experiences are utilized as a premium that the company could charge for. It explains how goods
and services are everywhere being commoditized. It also explains that customers today want
experiences- memorable events that engage each customer in an inherently personal way.
Starbucks is one potential example of the experience economy through its way of
delivering products and services. In the Philippines, Starbucks is becoming more and more
phenomenal thus, it is timely to study the reasons of its emergence and seek to understand its
underlying Filipino culture. The customer satisfaction towards the service quality of Starbucks
will be studied together with the factors that contribute to being an example of experience
economy. With this, the study also intends to create a general understanding on how experience
economy works. Through this study, the researcher will also find out how Starbucks is related
to certain theories of consumer behavior such as the snob effect, hyperreality, marginal utility
and consumer preference.
