Dive Brief:
- Starbucks’ turnaround plan is showing signs of success, with the company recording increases for both Starbucks Rewards and non-Rewards transactions for the first time since the second quarter of 2022, CEO Brian Niccol said on a Q1 2026 earnings call Wednesday.
- Better experiences have been a major part of the plan, including wait time reduction. The company has brought average cafe and drive-thru service times under four minutes during peak hours despite the rising number of transactions, according to Niccol.
- The number of active Starbucks Rewards members rose 3% year over year to a record 35.5 million, according to CFO Cathy Smith.
Dive Insight:
Starbucks’s goal is to win with loyalty and non-loyalty members alike, according to Niccol.
“This is something that when I first came into Starbucks I wanted to address, because I had seen non-rewards customers declining as a consistent trend,” Niccol said on the call. “And that's never healthy in a business — you have to win both with your Rewards customer and call it the light or infrequent customer.”
The company uses its loyalty program to personalize the experience for members rather than bring them back with coupons and discounts, according to Niccol. However, the brand isn’t letting up on building relationships with non-loyalty members, and associates are playing a major role in improving the experience for all customers.
The cafe chain’s Green Apron strategy rolled out in August, targeting new standards for interacting with customers, an updated staffing and deployment model and technology to help speed up order fulfillment.
“You're going to see our partners with eyes up,” Niccol said. “You're going to see our partners moving towards customers. You're going to see our partners wanting to make sure that their craft is being experienced the way it's intended to be experienced.”
The investment is paying off, with customers giving higher scores for convenience and connection, with more saying associates are making an effort to get to know them, according to Niccol. Starbucks is seeing the lowest level of complaints in the last couple years as well.
Global comparable store sales increased 4% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, driven by a 3% increase in comparable transactions and a 1% increase in average ticket, according to a company earnings release. North America and U.S. comparable store sales increased 4% year over year.
