Coffee lovers seem to be turning away from Starbucks, and there’s no easy solution for the coffee giant to win back the lost love.
According to a report published on Friday, By Wall Street JournalCustomers are tired of high costs, long wait times, and what some see as bad political attitudes from the company.
The attack caused Starbucks’ orders in the United States to fall by 6% in the quarter ending June 30.
For Dan Palmer, skyrocketing prices are no longer worth his daily dose of mangoes and dragon fruit.
“Prices have gone up — a lot,” a 66-year-old man living in the Chicago suburbs told the Wall Street Journal, noting that each cup costs $6.
“It’s not a deal in any sense of the word.”
Palmer isn’t the only one who has deliberately stopped eating out in the face of an impending economic downturn — nearly 40% of consumers reported spending less on takeout, according to a survey by Revenue Management Solutions.
Many others are moving towards lower-cost competition.
Brad Pearl, of Spokane, Washington, was a Starbucks regular until the high prices and long waits became unbearable. Now he frequents a local coffee shop that offers cheaper options, saving him about $150 a month.
“It’s really a luxury,” Pearl said of the cost.
But those who were willing to pay were put off by another annoyance: long wait times, despite ordering via mobile phone.
In 2024, more than 30% of customers reported waiting up to 15 minutes for their orders, with some sitting for up to half an hour, according to a survey by Technomic Ignite Consumer.
Even former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz admitted to a failure in the mobile ordering system, which eliminates 30% of business.
“Everyone shows up, and all of a sudden we have a mosh pit, and this is not Starbucks,” Schultz said on the “Acquired” podcast in June..
Starbucks has tried to lure former customers back to the chain with a series of discounts and promotions, as well as restructuring its workflow to achieve faster results, but the company has little room to maneuver in the cultural storm it has repeatedly found itself in.
Both the ideological left and right have set their sights on the coffee giant over the years, with each side calling for a national boycott.
The chain has come under fire for not explicitly mentioning Christmas on its red holiday cups, a move that politicians like Donald Trump have claimed is anti-Christian, while left-leaning leaders have accused Starbucks of financially supporting Israel — both accusations Schultz has vehemently denied.
Recently, Starbucks has come under fire for allegedly suppressing its employees’ attempts to form a union.
Despite the challenges it faces, Starbucks remains among the top performing companies in the United States and has seen market growth since its disappointing quarterly report.
Since June, Starbucks shares have jumped about 17%.
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