Similarities Between Tim Hortons And Starbucks

A Sociological Understanding of the Subcultures at Tim Horton’s and Starbucks

From the clothes I wear to the music I listen to, various aspects of my social life carries meaning. However after careful examination of my day to day activities, I have also begun to discover that something as mundane as my choice of morning coffee carries tremendous influence over shaping my social identity. When on campus, my decision to buy from Tim Hortons rather than Starbucks is rooted in its economical prices and the standardized products it offers. Even though I may have to go out of my way across campus and wait in line, I ultimately gravitate towards Tim Hortons. However, using my sociological imagination, I can understand that the decision making process …show more content…
Starbucks is a brand that uses its identity to attract customers seeking self-affirmation with regards to their belonging to an affluent social group. Individuals shop at Starbucks to underline their status as consumers of high-end products to their peers. On the other hand, aside from emphasizing their national identity, Tim Hortons’ symbolic interaction plays a different type of role. Its symbol and the meanings attributed to it, significantly varies with the symbolism involved with Starbucks. Particularly, Starbucks attempts to be identified as high class and excusive, whereas Tim Hortons focuses on nationalism and Canadian identity, which is represented in their Canadian heritage and Canadian inspired menu items (maple donut for example). Moreover, they value the Canadian identity and belonging to that subculture, through their affordability and availability. Tim Hortons values cooperation and community involvement through their many endorsements and charity …show more content…
However, Tim Hortons’ subculture, which offers an alternative consumer experience to the one advertised by Starbucks, also serves as an attraction to customers. The globalization of both brands has led to the spread of such philosophies to an intercontinental stage, whereby consumers of all different backgrounds are now equally affected by the aforementioned notions of subculture. The majority of individuals do not realize the extent to which cultural symbols influence their decision making as consumers (Innocente 2016). For example, I have personally witnessed how Starbucks’ removal of their logo from their cups during a Christmas period unconsciously angered their customers, to the point where many of them stopped purchasing Starbucks coffee. The symbol of Starbucks on the cups ascribed a social status to the people and when that symbol was taken away the customers lost that status and they were upset. The customers weren’t interested in Starbuck because the status was taken away. This shows the central meaning within that subculture and the symbols that were valued to members of this community. Using my sociological imagination I can see how we are influenced by the meanings that we attach to products in society. These symbols can be misleading because they attribute statuses to people which may not be representative of their circumstances (for example, buying Starbucks to boost

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