Waitrose brings back hot drinks to loyalty customers
Waitrose is bringing back its free hot drinks offer for loyalty card members after the offer was scraped two years ago.
The reintroduction of free hot drinks of members comes amid declining sales as customers seek cheaper alternatives to cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
Waitrose has partnered with Caffè Nero to supply the coffee beans, making it the biggest partnership between a supermarket and a coffee shop brand.
From 7 November, myWaitrose loyalty card holders will be able to claim a free Americano, latte, cappuccino or tea once a day when they shop at Waitrose, with no minimum spend required.
Caffè Nero app users will also benefit and can claim the offer in branches of both retailers.
The offer, which first began in 2013, was scrapped at the start of the Covid pandemic much to the dissatisfaction of many members.
However, the supermarket has decided to restore it following a trial earlier this year.
Charlotte Di Cello, commercial director of Waitrose, said: “Our customers loved the myWaitrose free coffee offer, so we’re really excited to bring it back, with premium beans from The Nero Roasting Company.
Will Stratton-Morris, chief executive of Caffè Nero UK, which has 650 stores, said the partnership “feels like a natural collaboration”, with customers of each company getting mutual discounts and benefits.
It comes after Waitrose posted a five per cent drop in like-for-like sales, to £3.6bn, in September.
The news comes as supermarkets are ramping up efforts to keep customers shopping with money-saving perks and schemes to help shoppers deal with spiralling costs.
