Starbucks Gift Cards Are Kind of a Scam—Here's Why
You may not believe in ghosts, but Starbucks money does. The giant Seattle coffee company made over $200 million this year thanks to a huge number
Everyone has received a Starbucks gift card as a business giveaway, stocking stuffer, or everyday gift, yet a startlingly high percentage fail to redeem
Starbucks earned $212.7 million in 2022 from "breakage," or leftover gift cards. That's a lot of money in wallets and sofa cushions.
Breakage has climbed significantly at Starbucks, which reported over $180 million in unclaimed gift card cash in 2021.
Starbucks' overall breakage income has climbed 51% from 2019, when it recorded $140.80 million.
Starbucks gift cards are always popular, especially over the holidays. Christmas shoppers spend billions on Starbucks gift cards.
Breakage has increased recently, though. Breakage revenue's influence on Starbucks' profitability was so noticeable that Strategic Organizing Center
Starbucks gift cards never expire. The coffee company believes that historical redemption rates show that certain unclaimed payments will never
be returned and are "recognized as breakage over time in proportion to stored-value card redemptions." Starbucks' recent annual filing shows market-specific