Starbucks Sales Fall Short of Expectations

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks says a key sales figure rose 3 percent in the U.S., but that the increase was the result of higher average spending and that customer traffic was down.

The coffee chain attributed the decline to a change in its loyalty program that led to people no longer splitting their orders to tally additional rewards points. Factoring in that change, the company said traffic was flat. Starbucks has also said the popularity of its mobile order-and-pay option has created congestion in some stores, causing some people who walk in to then leave without buying anything.

For the quarter, Starbucks Corp. earned $652.8 million, or 45 cents per share, in line with Wall Street expectations. Total revenue was $5.29 billion, short of the $5.42 billion analysts expected, according to FactSet.