Rouses Partners with Starbucks to Open In-Store Cafés Across Louisiana

The largest independent grocer in the state of Louisiana, Rouses, has partnered with the national coffee brand Starbucks. Coffee lovers across Louisiana will be excited about this partnership which has been in the works for a year.

The first Rouses location to open an in-store Starbucks opened Tuesday, marking the first of many to open across the state of Louisiana.

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Nola.com reported that Donny Rouse plans to add Starbucks to at least 10 other store locations, with two more to open in a couple of months. "We had some extra space in some of our stores, and we were just trying to figure out what we could put in there that our customers would want to see and drive more traffic to the stores."

While Louisiana will see Starbucks popping up inside their local Rouses first, there are plans to add coffee shops to out-of-state locations in the future.

Starbucks and Grocery Shopping Go Hand in Hand

Target began partnering with Starbucks in 1999. Now, Starbucks cafés have become nearly ubiquitous in Target stores across the U.S.

Not only does this give customers a chance to grab a coffee while they shop, but it also creates a cozy, welcoming atmosphere that encourages browsing.

According to some reports, shoppers are likely to spend 10-15% more time in stores with a café, which often translates into more sales across various departments.

Albertsons has opened Starbucks cafés in a significant number of its locations. By 2022, Albertsons had Starbucks inside nearly 1,000 of its stores nationwide.

Albertsons has reported that these in-store Starbucks cafés drive more foot traffic and increase the frequency of return visits.

It is easy to see why Rouses has decided to add Starbucks Cafes to some of its stores since it has proven to increase foot traffic in big box stores like Target.

Be on the lookout for a Starbucks coming to your local Rouses soon.