Pret a Manger serves up subscription coffee offer to counteract virus impact

With city and town centres having been hit badly by the loss of people working from home, the chain is hoping that its innovative £20 subscription offer will lure back lost shoppers.

The coffee and sandwich chain launches YourPret Barista next week as part of new digital strategy which it hopes will help revive its fortunes. Shoppers will be able to claim up to five coffees a day if they sign up for the new monthly service.

Chief executive officer Pano Christou said: “There’s no doubt that workers will come into the office less often than beforehand. Pret needs to adapt itself to the changes of customer patterns and that’s where we’ve been very focused.”

Briony Raven, Pret’s director of coffee and packaging, said the scheme aimed to help persuade customers to see Pret as the default choice, in the same way they do other subscription services such as Netflix. “It’s Pret’s way of doing loyalty. It’s about giving people an easy choice, when they come back into their everyday routine.”

For the monthly fee, customers can select any “barista prepared” drink using their phone to access the subscription, up to five times a day, seven days a week. To prevent misuse by anyone wanting to buy five drinks at the same time, each must be collected 30 minutes apart.

Pret has seen its delivery business grow ten-fold during the coronavirus crisis but, like most other retailers, has been badly hit by the impact of the virus in terms of store visits. It has already announced it is closing 30 outlets and laying off a third of its staff.