Consumers are navigating still-high prices with resilience. HundredX analysis, based on millions of pieces of customer feedback from July 2021 through April 2023 across 3,200+ companies, indicates inflation remains persistent, but consumers are cautiously hanging on. New Consumer Price Index (CPI) data shows prices increased 3.4% in April from a year ago, compared to 3.5% in March, which highlights a slight easing in inflation month-to-month. Still, HundredX data shows that consumers still feel negative about prices in general, pointing to inflation’s stickiness and consumer frustrations over the consistently high prices of everyday goods. Generally, we’ve seen that changes to HundredX’s Price favorability index are typically inversely correlated with movement in the CPI levels (i.e., inflation) reported by the US government.

Sure, lattes, mochaccinos, and cappuccinos are pricey, but they taste delicious. For many consumers, the great taste of coffee shop coffee made it worth the cost. But customers at Starbucks aren't so sure the tradeoff is worth it anymore. Examining more than 420,000 pieces of feedback across the Quick, Fast, Casual (QFC) industry, including over 21,000 on Starbucks, we find: Starbuck's Purchase Intent 1,2 is down 3% over the past six months, with most of that dip occurring over the past few months. By contrast, Dunkin' Donuts has remained within a tight range over the past six months, as did an average of other, smaller coffee chains. Customers increasingly see less value in Starbucks. Starbuck's Value perception 3 fell 5% over the past six months, compared to just 1% for Dunkin' Donuts. However, it also fell 5% for the average of the smaller coffee chains. Coffee drinkers feel significantly unhappier about Starbuck's quality and taste. Starbuck's Taste perception fell 4% over the past six months, while rising 1% for competitors. Likewise, its Quality perception dipped 3% over the same time period (and 8% over the year). Ultimately, Starbuck's perceived drop in taste is leading inflation-weary consumers to say they plan to spend less at the coffee chain, as the value just isn't as good.