I don’t know if you noticed or not, but Starbucks has raised its coffee prices. This means that the chai latte or Oreo Cookie Mocha Frappuccino is costing you more this month. I confess that I hadn’t noticed, but that is probably because I rarely get a coffee out, unless it is a sort of emergency. For example, I am trapped in the car on a three-hour road trip or a four-hour round of errands, and it is the afternoon, and my only option to avoid a caffeine headache is the Starbucks at the rest stop or the strip mall.
In those instances, I do get a small coffee and notice that the rest stop charges more than the strip mall. Here I thought all Starbucks charged the same amount. Aren’t these prices national? It turns out that they are not.
The company did announce that the price hikes are be national though and be seen “in most stores.” The increase in prices comes despite the fact that the cost of coffee has actually gone down–to a four-year-low no less. Coffee is one of the few things that has decreased in cost, and this decrease gave Starbucks a very strong profit margin in their last quarter. Perhaps they want to raise prices to sell less coffee?
To be fair, there are other costs involved with coffee-making and selling, such as rent on its stores, milk and other ingredients, and employee salaries. These costs don’t seem to be affecting their success, though.
If you enjoy Starbucks coffee, there are ways that you can reduce the price you pay for it, despite the rise in cost.
Ask for gift cards. The next time a birthday or holiday approaches and you are asked what you would like, tell them a Starbucks gift card would be appreciated.
Sign up for the reward program to earn points for free coffee.
Pay attention to promotions, such as free or reduced prices on new products.