The impact of COVID-19 is impacting every sector of business, including Starbucks, which has seen a 40% decline in U.S. sales since the pandemic hit the country.
As more people continue to work at home or shift their habits due to financial strain, fewer are buying drinks in the morning. Starbucks lost sales of approximately $3.1 billion relative to the company’s expectations before the outbreak, due to temporary store closures, modified operations, reduced hours and reduced customer traffic
The vast majority of Starbucks stores have opened and the company feels optimistic about the fourth quarter.
“As we continue to drive the recovery, we are also building resilience for the future by accelerating the transformation of our business in ways that will elevate the customer and partner experience and drive long-term growth,” said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and CEO. “We firmly believe that we are well positioned to regain the positive business momentum we had before the pandemic began and look forward to reigniting our ‘Growth at Scale’ agenda.”
Starbucks has 3,100 stores in the U.S.