Starbucks has introduced a Pairings Menu comprising either coffee or tea with a croissant at $5 or a breakfast sandwich for $6. The promotion commenced on June 11th and represents a departure from previous menu pricing. Rachel Ruggeri Executive vice president and CFO of Starbucks noted, “More recently what we are seeing is headwinds related to our customers, particularly our occasional customer largely as it relates to the awareness of what we have and the perception of value.”
Starbucks has reported lower earnings, less traffic and a decline in consumer loyalty. In an investors conference, Ruggeri observed that “Although Starbucks is focused on recovery of traffic, particularly from the occasional customer it will take some time to fully recover, and the results will only be visible in Q4 and beyond.”