Introduction

The coffee shop industry has been existing for the longest time. However, it has

evolved today to a much more complex industry catering the diverse needs and the

satisfaction of its consumers. Coffee shops vary in many ways. There are shops which

has become large companies and there are also many small-scale coffee shops gaining

popularity among locals, being patronized by the unique qualities it offers. Most coffee

shops today also capture the consumers heart by introducing new trends that meet a

certain segment of population.

All-nighters, as students coined it, is very common among them. Therefore,

investors are venturing to the coffee industry due to being very rampant and profitable to

locations near schools and universities. Students often need caffeine to stay up at night,

or some even use the environment of the coffee shop to become more productive

believing that the atmospherics of these establishments help them induce creative ideas

and are able to study better.

The focus of this study is to understand this consumer behavior among students

and the factors they consider when choosing a coffee shop for studying. It will also

address the question why students prefer to study in coffee shops than at their own places

(e.g. home, dorm, personal dwellings, etc.) when in turn, they are able to save more

money versus the fact that they will be spending hundreds of peso for a single cup of

coffee. And in this light, this study aims to know the elements they prefer that enables

them to decide which particular coffee shop they will work or study.
 This study also gives light to the newly coined term of third places which coffee

shops consider them as. Third places, as defined by Oldenburg and Brissett (1982), are

places that exist outside the home and beyond the work lots of modern economic

production. These are places where people gather primarily to enjoy each others

company. With this definition, it can be inferred that first places are homes, and second

places are an individuals workplace or school, as for the case of students.

In another perspective, it is also important to consider the managements side

towards this. Students often stay long hours due to studying, and this gives rise to the

possibility of affecting the establishments profitability. Students would often buy a single

product and would be staying in the coffee shop for a long period of time.

With this, it shall be discussed in this study whether the management is in favor

of such, or if they would rather prefer a faster exchange of customers in their

establishments for better profit.

Furthermore, the different marketing strategies employed by these coffee shops

shall also be discussed. This study will elaborate on the different elements that prompt

customers such as store aesthetics, promotion and advertisement, achieving the perfect

taste for different tongues, and the quest of understanding the phenomenon of what lies

beyond the cup.