US economy

Starbucks to end newspaper sales in September, including USA Today



Grabbing a copy of the newspaper at your favorite coffee shop is a thing of the past, at least it is if you frequent Starbucks.

The coffee chain will quit selling USA Today as well as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal in more than 8,600 U.S. stores in September. Starbucks has sold The Times since 2000 and other papers since 2010. The New York Post first reported Starbucks’ decision to drop newspapers.

The decision was due to the decline of in-store sales of newspapers.

“We are always looking at what we offer our customers in our stores and making adjustments to our portfolio based on changing customer behavior,” said Starbucks spokesperson Sanja Gould. As part of our continuous efforts to enhance the overall experience in our stores for both partners and customers, we are removing select fixtures from our retail lobby in September.” 

These fixtures include shelves with whole bean coffee and snacks, although these items will be available elsewhere in the store. 

Newspapers won’t necessarily be out at all Starbucks locations. Licensed locations in hospitals, universities and other institutions might continue to sell newspapers since they are not operated by the coffee chain itself.

The company has looked to simplify and reduce the number of products include in the store, including tumblers and specialty drinks, based on what customers are buying.

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Though java and journalism have been a classic pairing for generations, indeed, the smells and smears of newsprint are in decline. While some papers are adding digital subscribers, newspaper weekday circulation has declined by more than half since its peak in the mid-’80s.

The Times says it is “disappointed” and the Journal confirmed that Starbucks is stopping print sales. No one was immediately available to comment from Gannett. 

This isn’t the first time Starbucks has decided old media is too passe for its cafes. It dropped the sale of CDs – remember those? – back in 2015. .

Contributing: The Associated Press.



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