A close-up of a Starbucks branded paper bag on an outdoor picnic table at a park in Walnut Creek, California on May 19, 2024.
Smith Collection/Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images
Coffee delivery has grown into a billion dollar business starbucks.
The coffee giant announced Wednesday that its annual delivery sales exceeded a milestone for fiscal year 2025, which ends Sept. 30. In the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, delivery sales rose nearly 30% year over year, executives said.
The growth in Starbucks’ delivery initiatives comes as the company’s broader U.S. operations embark on a turnaround. Starbucks reported flat U.S. same-store sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, reversing the previous seven quarters of domestic same-store sales declines as customers made their own coffee at home or turned to competitors.
The coffee giant started testing delivery about a decade ago, but Starbucks was slower to start testing delivery than many other restaurant companies. Nationwide delivery is now possible through Uber Eats In 2020, door dash In 2023, and last year it was Grubhub. Currently, most U.S. coffee chain company-operated cafes offer delivery services.
Consumers in the United States have been slower to embrace coffee delivery than in other markets such as China. In Starbucks’ home markets, drive-thru lanes and mobile ordering options offer similar convenience without delivery fees.
Perhaps to justify the higher costs, a typical Starbucks delivery order is nearly twice the size of an in-store transaction, the company says. More than 40% of the chain’s delivery orders include food.
While overall restaurant spending has slowed as consumers face higher costs, food delivery hasn’t seen a similar plunge in sales. Discounts and promotions help third-party apps retain customers and also contribute to their move into new categories such as alcohol and grocery delivery.
