S TA R B U C K S ACTIVITY Starbucks introduced a discount for reusable cups when it opened its first UK store in 1998, which was increased to 25p in 2008. Since 2014 Starbucks has offered a ÂŁ1 reusable cup to make it easier for customers to reuse at a reasonable price. In 2016, as a way to heighten awareness and to incentivise use, Starbucks extended the reusable cup discount to 50p for a few months but found that this did not significantly shift customer behaviour. At the start of 2018 Starbucks commissioned research which found that almost half (48%) of people surveyed said they would carry a reusable cup to save money and reduce waste, yet at the time of the announcement only 2.3% of Starbucks customers in company-owned stores in Britain used reusable cups. Starbucks also recognised where more customers could be encouraged to use ceramic mugs when choosing to drink in store. The operations team increased communication to store to ensure a mug is always offered.
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