Starbucks offer free refills as coffee sales fall

Starbucks beats credit crunch with free top-ups

Starbucks are offering customers free refills, in an attempt to beat the credit crunch.

As many tighten their purse strings, Starbucks is bidding to keep customers by offering a complimentary coffee with all hot drinks.

The offer ups the stakes for high-street coffee chains, and is likely to put pressure on other retailers to offer similar incentives.

The chain admitted earlier this year that sales were down in the UK, and has been forced to close 600 stores in the US.

Chief executive Howard Schultz commented earlier this year, ‘Starbucks coffee and premium coffee experience has, over time, been an affordable luxury. And at this time, it isn’t for some people.’