Starbucks has made a major change to its menu that will save customers money after years of price increases.
The coffee giant announced that it will no longer charge extra costs for dairy alternatives in its drinks.
The surcharges applied to almond and oat milk can be as high as 80 cents in some of the chain’s stores.
The change, announced Wednesday, will reduce the cost of some customers’ drinks by as much as 10 percent.
The new policy comes into effect on Thursday, November 7 and follows years of customer complaints.
Starbucks just announced a big change to their menu that will save customers money
Starbucks has seen its U.S. sales decline as higher prices have turned away customers.
“This is just one of many changes we will be making to ensure a visit to Starbucks is worth it every time,” CEO Brian Niccol said of the change.
According to Starbucks, asking for a milk alternative is the second most requested customization from customers.
This is only posted by those who request an extra shot of espresso.
The customer can currently add up to four ounces of non-dairy milk to an order at no additional charge.
However, other drinks made with more milk, such as a latte, will incur an additional charge.
The coffee retailer began offering non-dairy milk in 1997, when it added a soy option to its menus.
As alternative milks became more popular, others were added, including coconut milk in 2015, almond milk in 2016 and oat milk in 2021.
Starbucks first offered dairy-free milk alternatives in 1997
Niccol took over as CEO last month and has announced his mission to reverse the chain’s declining sales.
The company unexpectedly published its earnings report early last month, showing that sales had fallen sharply for the third consecutive quarter.
Sales in the US fell 6 percent as cash-strapped customers are increasingly put off by high prices and long wait times for drinks.
“The main issue is that consumers are buying less coffee at Starbucks to save money,” Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData Retail, told DailyMail.com.
Offering more promotions doesn’t seem to have worked, Saunders said, and the chain announced earlier this month that it was scaling back discounts offered through its mobile app.