It's certainly normal in the Middle East where coffee is a big part of the culture. In some countries, coffee kind of fills the gap where alcohol might normally where it's banned.
They may or may not be drinking coffee - but those places don't track if people are constantly buying something. They are generally young generation, doing maybe university work, chatting up etc. I guess it works well for the coffee shop as well, as more crowded they look, more people come in.
I for one haven't been to a Starbucks anywhere in the world that even tracks whether sitting customers have ordered anything. Is this a thing? Has anyone been to such a Starbucks?
