Starbucks offers free Wi-Fi in Canada

Let the battle for the best seat begin. Canadian coffee addicts just got one more reason to camp out for unreasonably long periods of time at their local Starbucks: free Wi-Fi.

Starting on Canada Day, more than 750 Starbucks locations across the country will offer free Wi-Fi, the company said Wednesday. More than 100 of those locations are in Toronto.

Services will be provided by Bell Canada. In the past, purchasing a drink or food item earned customers two hours of access. The new system does not require a password or user name and will be unlimited.

In mid-June Starbucks announced free Wi-Fi would be coming to the U.S. and hinted the offer would be extended to Canada.

Following the first announcement, Kenneth Hardy, professor emeritus of marketing with the Richard Ivey School of Business, said Starbucks has the problem of dealing with the evolution of their customer base, from the espresso-sipping, leisurely, chatty customer to those who want a grab-and-go experience.


“The second group that has come in over the last five or six years at least is more of a ‘get my coffee and run, don’t want to chat with the barista’ type,” said Hardy, who is a director of Williams Coffee Pub. Offering free Wi-Fi is a way to lure that first crowd back, he said.

But, one challenge would be making sure customers didn’t linger too long over their laptops, preventing people who want to come in and sip a quick latte from finding a seat.

When the potential predicament was posed to Starbucks, Adam Brotman, vice president Starbucks Digital Ventures, sent a response via email.

“We've found that customers who bring laptops to Starbucks have averaged about an hour of Wi-Fi use during a visit, and we don't expect that free access will make people linger longer,” said Brotman, adding that all of the stores have different flows of traffic and they don’t expect those flows to be disrupted.

In recent years, Starbucks has been hit by the recession and overwhelmed by rapid expansion.

Competitor McDonald’s Corp., which has been making strides in the coffee world, already offers free Wi-Fi at 11,500 U.S. locations.

Hardy said the need to distinguish Starbucks as a leisure destination is compounded in Canada, where the market is dominated by low-cost options like Tim Hortons.

“Starbucks had been hurting so I think they need it,” he said. “It takes the edge off being a four-buck cup of coffee. At least you get your Wi-Fi.”