Miami students and Oxford residents sip coffee and study at Starbucks uptown, where prices will go up by 5 cents for beverages and 50 cents for ground coffee beans per pound. (Michael Pickering)
The Starbucks Corporation, starting Oct. 3, will increase its prices of lattes, cappuccinos, drip coffee and other drinks by 5 cents at each of its establishments - Oxford included.
The price increase will not apply to the prepared drinks sold in refrigerated cases.
This boils down to an average price increase of just 1.9 percent. This increase will take place at all company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada and will be the first time Starbucks has increased drink prices in two years. Additionally, Starbucks is increasing the price of its coffee beans in 23 out of its 27 brands by 50 cents per pound for the first time since 1997. House Blend, Breakfast Blend, Light Note Blend and Café Verona will be unaffected.
According to Bill Moloney, director of dining services at Miami University, the change will not impact the price of Starbucks coffee sold in dining halls or the Recreational Sports Center.
He said the corporate increase will not have an effect because as some prices increase, prices on other foods decrease, the differences even out in the end.
Abby Hirt of the Starbucks media office in Indianapolis explained the reasoning behind the price raise.
"Inflation happens," Hirt said. "Time and time again, prices increase and coffee isn't any different. Our costs include a rise in fuel and energy prices. Milk and green coffee bean prices for espresso-based coffee drinks are also increasing, so we needed to do something to offset these costs, especially since we haven't increased prices in two years."
Even though the prices at Starbucks stores in, for instance, New York City, are higher than those at the Oxford location, the price hike will be the same across the board. "Although the prices of the drinks at each Starbucks vary based on location, the 5 cent increase will be universal," Hirt said.
But the price increase will not affect Starbucks stores overseas because they have a completely different operating structure, one that is mainly in partnership with other companies.
While the increase could leave Starbucks patrons searching under the couch cushions for extra nickels, Miami University sophomore Jen Grant said she did not think it would be a problem for most people.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
"I do not buy Starbucks on a regular basis, so the price increase will not really affect me," Grant said.
For someone who purchases a Starbucks beverage on a daily basis, the price increase will amount to 35 cents a week, or about $18 for an entire year.
According to Hirt, the corporation isn't afraid of losing customers.
"Records from 2004 show that there was no measurable attrition after that price increase," Hirt said.
Miami sophomore Kathee Terrell reflected this opinion, and said that such a nominal price increase would not impact her choice of coffeehouse.
"I won't mind paying an extra nickel for my rare beverage at Starbucks," Terrell said. "I don't think there will be a decrease in Starbucks customers in Oxford either because there still won't be a huge price difference between Starbucks and Kofenya. What it will still come down to is a personal preference of atmosphere."
Perhaps it isn't the atmosphere, but rather the intense caffeine kick they get from Starbucks coffee that keeps customers coming back.
Hirt reported information from a recent study that the caffeine in a Starbucks beverage tends to be higher than that of the competition.
"A 16-ounce Starbucks House Blend coffee contained 223 milligrams of caffeine, compared with 174 milligrams in the same size at Dunkin' Donuts, and 141 milligrams in a 7-Eleven coffee," Hirt said.
Current prices at Starbucks and Kofenya, the other major coffee vendor in uptown Oxford, are nearly equivalent. Both charge $1.70 for a medium drip coffee and $3.20 for a medium latte. So after Oct. 3, Starbucks will charge 5 cents more than Kofenya overall.
Read More
How one professor and her classes are preserving Oxford’s Black history
By Sean Scott | March 20, 2024Jazma Sutton, an assistant professor of history, teaches The Black Midwest (HST 350Q) and Black Women in America (HST 450D) classes. In both courses, she has students working with the Smith Library of Regional History and Miami’s archives to document and preserve Black history in Oxford.
Miami faculty members recount Freedom Summer in new documentary
By Luke Macy | February 25, 2022After seven years of work, “Training for Freedom,” a documentary highlighting Oxford’s involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964, premiered on PBS Western Reserve on Valentine’s Day.
“Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic”: History in the making
By Alice Momany | August 29, 2021In March 2020, Miami University’s archives launched “Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a collection focused on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.