Yahoo Finance Working from home holds back sales recovery at coffee shops
A shift to working from home is holding back the post-pandemic recovery of Britain’s coffee shops, data shows.
Sales at UK coffee chains grew by 11.9pc over the last 12 months as many workers returned to offices, but still remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to coffee experts Allegra.
It comes as the average price of a latte - Britain's favourite coffee serve - rose by 11.3pc to £3.25 over the past year, while the cost of a flat white increased 30p to an average of £3.14.
This is the highest annual price increase on record for coffee, the research said.
Jeffrey Young, chief executive at Allegra, said: “The real black cloud over the market is the cost of living squeeze and how that starts to psychologically influence the UK consumer.”
Coffee chains have faced a steep rise in the cost of energy and wages as inflation surges.
Paul Rooke, executive director of the British Coffee Association (BCA), said: “Many coffee roasters use gas to fuel the roasting process and have therefore seen the gas price volatility.
“Other smaller roasters may use electricity as their power source but with similar consequences over the past year. Roasting is a relatively intensive energy user.
“In addition to that, labour shortages have had an impact, not least at the retail end of the sector.”
Shipping costs had “reduced somewhat” in the last 12 months from their highs during the pandemic, he added. But, he said: “Some knock on impacts remain”.
Pret a Manger currently charges £3.30 for both lattes and flat whites in most of its high street stores.
Caffé Nero charges £3.25 for a flat white and £3.15 for a latte nationally, with prices generally higher in London.
In Starbucks in London's Victoria station, visited by The Telegraph, tall lattes and flat whites cost £3.55. Starbucks also varies its prices regionally.
A spokesman for Starbucks said: "The prices of some beverages have experienced slight price adjustments over the past year in line with increased input costs and the wider industry."
The number of coffee shops in Britain has exploded over the past decade, with the total number of outlets serving coffee rising from around 13,000 in 2009 to almost 29,000 in 2020, according to Allegra.
