Recently, Pret A Manger decided to revamp its popular coffee subscription service, Club Pret, and the reaction has been anything but warm.
What was once a deal where you could enjoy up to five drinks a day for £30 a month is now turning into a much less generous offer.
Starting in September, subscribers will need to fork out £10 per month for only a 50% discount on drinks.
Fans of the subscription are outraged, and social media is buzzing with frustration.
One user on X (formerly Twitter) declared, “You are making a huge mistake,” and threatened to cancel their subscription and avoid Pret entirely if the change isn’t reversed.
The new rules have stirred up quite a storm among subscribers who’ve been calculating the financial impact of this shift.
Currently, if you were drinking five coffees a day, the monthly cost would be £30.
But under the new scheme, this could jump to £280, compared to £540 if bought at full price.
This has led many to wonder why Pret would move away from a model that seemed to drive so much foot traffic into their stores.
A Costly Misstep?
Some experts believe Pret’s coffee subscription was too good to last.
It might be reminiscent of the infamous Hoover “free flights” fiasco in 1992, where the company nearly went under after offering two free tickets to New York with a vacuum cleaner purchase.
The value of the flights far exceeded the price of the vacuum, leading to a massive financial hit for Hoover.
Pret’s subscription started on September 8, 2020, right when the pandemic had left businesses struggling and workers were working from home.
The offer was initially set at £20 a month for five drinks a day, a strategy to boost business during a challenging time.
The service was a hit, attracting 16,500 subscribers on its first day, and by April 2023, Pret was handing out over 1.25 million coffees a week.
However, the scheme was becoming too expensive to sustain.
The Economics Behind the Scenes
Pret found itself in a difficult position as the subscription model meant they were giving away coffee at a loss.
A subscriber visiting Pret 28 times a month would effectively pay just over £1 per coffee, while non-subscribers faced prices ranging from £3 for an espresso to £4.25 for a Matcha Latte.
Given that coffee shops typically make a 10% profit margin, Pret was losing £1.70 on each espresso given away under the subscription rules.
In an attempt to balance things out, Pret increased the subscription price from £25 to £30 in 2023 and added a 20% discount on food.
However, despite this, non-subscribers felt the pinch, with prices on other items like bottled water and sandwiches also rising.
Looking Ahead
Pret has promised to adjust some prices downward, with butter croissants now costing £1.99 instead of £2.30 and Arabica filter coffee priced at 99p instead of £1.80.
Despite these efforts, the damage to Club Pret’s reputation may have already been done. History shows that overly generous offers often lead to financial pitfalls, as seen with past blunders from companies like McDonald’s and Healthy Choice.
For now, Pret’s subscribers are left wondering if the dream of enjoying unlimited coffee at a bargain price is forever out of reach.
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