Everyone knows their Starbucks order, whether it’s a dark roast coffee with a shot of espresso or a tall flat white. With nearly 40,000 Starbucks stores worldwide and almost 17,000 locations in the U.S., millions of customers have their orders memorized, but fewer are placing orders at the global coffee chain.
Starbucks announced on October 30, 2024, a 7% drop in global same-store sales for the fourth quarter of 2024 with “a pronounced traffic decline” in North America—10% lower than it was a year earlier, marking the worst quarter since the pandemic shutdowns of 2020.
The coffee giant also suspended its financial guidance for the 2025 fiscal year as chairperson and CEO Brian Niccol announced fundamental changes Starbucks is making that will cut into their own profits, with the plan to bring back customers and increase their sales numbers.
In a company press release, Niccol says, “It is clear we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers. ‘Back to Starbucks’ is that fundamental change. My experience tells me that when we get back to our core identity and consistently deliver a great experience, our customers will come back. We have a clear plan and are moving quickly to return Starbucks to growth.”
Niccol is a veteran restaurant executive known for revamping Chipotle after food safety issues and for reviving Taco Bell’s reputation. He became CEO on September 9, 2024, taking the reins from Laxman Narasimhan, who held the role for less than two years.
In his first earnings call, Niccol mentioned the company’s disappointing fourth quarter, but mostly spent time laying out the Back to Starbucks plan with changes that keep customers at the center of everything they do, to feel valued and at home at the coffee chain.
Here are 7 ways Niccol plans to increase sales and win back Starbucks customers
1. Improve mobile ordering
Crowded counters full of mobile orders overwhelm both customers and Starbucks employees. With mobile orders accounting for more than 30% of their U.S. transactions, Niccol says they are working to improve the accuracy of the app’s timing, so customers know when their drinks are ready. He also wants to separate mobile order pickups inside the restaurant, so customers who are ordering inside can clearly differentiate their order.
Beginning November 7, 2024, customers in U.S. and Canada company-owned and operated stores will no longer pay extra for customizing their beverages with non-dairy milk.
In an October 30, 2024 press release, Starbucks shared how substituting non-dairy milk—whether it’s soymilk, oat milk, almond milk or coconut milk—in a handcrafted beverage is the second most requested customization from Starbucks customers, behind adding a shot of espresso.
The release explains how almost half of Starbucks’ current customers in the U.S. who pay to modify their beverage at company-operated stores will see a price reduction of more than 10%.
The company believes that even though it may lose thousands of dollars from this 10% price reduction, customers will appreciate the change, and the potential increase in customer loyalty is worth the cost.
“Core to the Starbucks Experience is the ability to customize your beverage to make it yours. By removing the extra charge for non-dairy milks we’re embracing all the ways our customers enjoy their Starbucks,” said Niccol.
3. Handwrite customer names on cups
Starbucks aims to reinstate one of its best-known personal touches by bringing back handwritten names on its Starbucks cups.
Handwritten names have been replaced over the past few years with printed customer names on receipts, which has removed one of the company’s original markings.
Even with the extra expense of buying markers, the company believes that writing customer names will pay off by personalizing each customer’s experience.
“We’re going to be bringing the Sharpies back to our baristas,” Niccol said. “It’s going to give them the opportunity to put that additional human touch on every coffee experience as well.”
4. Bring back the condiment bar
Niccol told analysts that the condiment bar feature is coming back in 2025 to take some of the heavy lifting away from baristas and to speed up service.
During the COVID pandemic in 2020, Starbucks moved the condiment bars behind the counter.
Since then, when customers want to add milk or sugar to their drinks—even a simple drip coffee—they have had to ask baristas directly.” If you order a brewed cup of coffee, it’s a really fast experience because we’re going to just hand it to you right at the point of sale, and then you can go to the coffee condiment bar and doctor up your coffee how you see fit,” Niccol told analysts.
5. Improve staffing
Starbucks has increased the average number of hours that it schedules baristas. Added shifts and more consistent scheduling have lowered the company’s turnover and improved retention.
Niccol said in his corporate video that he also wants to ensure that cafes are properly staffed, from the busy morning rush to “shoulder hours,” leading up to and away from peak times.
In his video, Niccol emphasized the importance of offering customers a place where they can gather together. With this in mind, the company plans to revert the cafes to their former coffee house aesthetic.
Starbucks is also evaluating the cafe design and plans to bring back more comfortable seating and amenities, allowing customers to feel more at home when they sit and socialize or work from their neighborhood cafe.
Niccol asserts that Starbucks needs to focus on streamlining their offerings. He adds, “We are going to put some guardrails on some of the customization, because some of it frankly ruins the beverage.” Additionally, reducing the menu size will make it easier for baristas to make every drink consistently and improve the speed of service, since they’ll have fewer drink recipes to remember.
With these changes in place, Starbucks believes customers will flock back to order their favorite beverage.
In closing his video, Niccol says, “If you stay true to your core identity, take care of customers and your team, simplify the business, deliver consistently high-quality products and experiences and tell your story effectively, you will be successful.”
Photo courtesy of Cloudy Design/Shutterstock
