You’re hooked on caffeine, and boy, does Starbucks know it. While you’re distracted with their Starbucks Happy Hour deals, which are worth tracking if you’re an afternoon coffee type of person, the opposite was quietly rolled out. Instead of drink deals we’re talking (another) Starbucks price increase.
The coffee chain is no stranger to price hikes, but they tend to do them quietly, which is why you might not have noticed a Starbucks price increase earlier that pumped up prices on some food items and cookies. In fact, as Fortune reports, this is the third time Starbucks increased prices in three years. So what do you need to know about budgeting for your morning brew? We break down the new Starbucks price increase, what drinks will be affected and why the company claims these price hikes are happening.
How much is the Starbucks price increase?
No, you probably won’t get sticker shock from it, but the Starbucks price increase could add up for your wallet. The soy latte slinger announced in a statement that prices will go up by 10 to 20 cents in 8,000 company-operated locations across the country. That means a tall coffee (we know, we know, you always buy bigger than that) will now set you back $2.15 instead of $1.95.
The exact Starbucks price increase you’ll see will depend on where your go-to store is located. “Beverage and food prices vary by location and customers can find pricing posted in store or through our mobile app,” the company told Fortune. So, city dwellers, you should probably brace yourselves for the higher end of that range.
Why is Starbucks increasing prices?
The company claims the increase is a response to inflation and not, as some theorized, a tactic for recouping lost revenue when they shut down stores early May 29 for racial bias training. “Starbucks continually evaluates pricing on a product-by-product and market-by-market basis,” the company told Fortune in a statement. “In the past year, Starbucks increased prices 1 – 2 % which is on par with the industry practices and is in line with food away from home inflation.”
Which drinks are affected by the Starbucks price increase?
So where will you see these new prices on your next coffee run? Right now it looks like only brewed coffee is affected, so don’t let reports scare you about your macchiatos or Frappuccinos. This standard sip seems to be the frequent target for the company, which increased the cost for brewed coffee just last year by 10 to 20 cents.
If you haven’t already, it seems about time to download the Starbucks app, through which you can at least put those extra 10 to 20 cents to good use by earning points toward a free drink with every purchase. You can earn fractions of stars, the measurement of points in the app, so every cent counts.
