Starbucks stops buzzing

The ubiquity of Starbucks has become a joke almost as common as the coffee shops themselves. Not so long ago, satirical newspaper The Onion claimed Starbucks was opening a Starbucks in the toilet of a Starbucks.

But for the Seattle-based coffee company, the joke isn’t funny any more. Last week, the firm revealed that the amount of traffic flowing through its US stores fell during the fourth quarter — the first dip since the company began disclosing the figure three years ago.

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