Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson identifies correlation between higher rates of vaccination and improved store sales in the coffee chain’s markets globally
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Photo credit: Starbucks Coffee Company
Markets with higher rates of vaccination are seeing sales rebound more quickly following Covid-19 trading restrictions, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has indicated.
In an interview with CNBC’s Mad Money, Johnson said Starbucks’ same-store sales were surpassing pre-pandemic levels in markets where more consumers were vaccinated.
“Consumer mobility shot through the roof and ... we started seeing traffic increasing in our stores,” he said.
Johnson also identified that in markets where at least 35% of adults had been vaccinated against Covid-19, governments had typically begun to ease trading restrictions, further enabling store sales to recover.
The comments came as new rules were introduced at cafés in Moscow, Russia, requiring all customers to present an official QR code proving their vaccination, recovery from Covid-19 over the past six months, or negative PCR test results conducted within 72 hours.
So-called Covid-19 ‘green passes’ are being considered by many European governments to facilitate the safe free movement of travel between countries. A recent EU proposal seeks to introduce ‘Digital Green Certificates’ to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test to ensure safer travel between and outside of member states.
Such technology could have ramifications for hospitality businesses as governments consider routes to easing Covid-19 trading restrictions that have blighted the industry.
Such schemes could, however, prove difficult to implement. A 'Covid Passport' scheme proposed by the UK government in early 2021 as means of easing social distancing rules in hospitality venues will now likely only be considered for the travel industry due to logistics challenges and ethical concerns.