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Starbucks China ends free seating, requiring purchases at 8,000 cafes

News Snapshot:

Want a seat at your nearest Starbucks in China? Make sure you order something first. Starbucks China now asks customers to buy something before they can sit down in its cafés, a rule that covers its roughly 8,000 stores across mainland China. (Some customers, like pregnant women and people with mobility issues, will still get “priority support,” the company said in the announcement on Oct. 21.) Social media reaction to the move was largely positive. “Starbucks is in the business of selling beverages, not operating as a free study room,” wrote one user on Weibo, a platform similar to X….

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