{"id":768455,"date":"2026-06-29T20:15:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/768455\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:15:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:15:34","slug":"coffee-prices-australia-why-businesses-are-ending-the-era-of-free-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/768455\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee prices Australia: Why businesses are ending the era of free coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"

It appears the days of free and discounted coffee<\/a> may soon be over.<\/p>\n

A second Woolworths<\/a> location \u2013 this time at Central Park in Chippendale, Sydney \u2013 has notified customers it is ceasing free coffees<\/a> for every $30 spent for Everyday Rewards customers as caf\u00e9s in the supermarket\u2019s Metro locations continue to shut down across the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

This sign has appeared at Woolworths in Chippendale, Sydney.\u00a0Nine<\/p>\n

A nine.com.au reader informed us of this latest development<\/a>, saying: \u201cWoolies Metro are discontinuing their free coffee vouchers (stopped being issued June 22, final redemption by August 21).<\/p>\n

\u201cI do most of my shopping in small \u2018top-up\u2019 bursts<\/a>, so I\u2019d often get a few vouchers a week. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t the world\u2019s best coffee but if I wanted to grab a quick one without breaking the bank, I\u2019d duck to Woolies on a lunch break or after the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added that whenever they\u2019ve spoken to staff at the supermarket about the issue, they have been told, \u201cNo-one ever buys the coffee, it\u2019s always just the free vouchers\u201d.<\/p>\n

In May, Woolworths confirmed the gradual closure of caf\u00e9s in its Metro locations after a shopper in Randwick, Sydney arrived to see a sign sharing the bad news.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Metro stores are designed to provide maximum convenience for customers looking for quick \u2018grab and go\u2019 essentials and top-up shops,\u201d a Woolworths spokesperson told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have decided to cease the barista-made coffee service due to limited uptake. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis will allow our team to adapt our store offering as part of our ongoing commitment to better meet the needs of the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers can still find a wide selection of coffee products in-store, including instant, ground, beans and pods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Most of the supermarket’s Metro stores were operating cafes until this year.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

A Woolies spokesperson pointed customers to “coffee products in-store”.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n

A new blow for shoppers<\/p>\n

Coles Express \u2013 rebranded to Reddy Express under Viva Energy ownership \u2013 ended its long-running \u201cevery sixth coffee free\u201d program for Flybuy members in 2025.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, McDonald\u2019s Australia has almost doubled the number of loyalty points customers need via their MyMacca\u2019s app<\/a> to redeem a coffee as of May 28.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

McDonald’s recently increased the number of loyalty points needed to redeem coffees via the MyMaccas app.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n

A spokesperson confirmed it now takes 6000 points rather than 3000 to redeem a medium coffee at the\u00a0fast food outlet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo ensure we can continue delivering value to our customers, we\u2019ve evolved our rewards program by introducing a new 2500-point tier, and adding some of our\u00a0most loved menu items\u00a0to the program for the first time,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Today Money Expert Joel Gibson says we\u2019re still seeing the \u201cflow-through effects of when fuel prices spiked back in March\u201d, in addition to other business expense increases.<\/p>\n

This includes the minimum wage increasing by five per cent on July 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo business costs are going up, and the first thing they do when their costs are going up is they don\u2019t automatically raise their prices, they start to cut back,\u201d Gibson told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

Especially during the cost of living crisis, a free cuppa felt like a bit of a win … it makes you feel good.<\/p>\n

Joel Gibson, Today Money Expert<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s maybe what we\u2019re seeing there … rather than putting in a higher price, [companies are] just looking for other places where they can cut costs first and maybe avoid putting their prices up.\u201d<\/p>\n

For customers, it can feel like a further blow on top of already increased prices, particularly at the supermarket.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Some caf\u00e9s such as Bourke Street Bakery still offer free coffees for loyal customers.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially during the cost of living crisis, a free cuppa felt like a bit of a win,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cApart from the fact that coffee has caffeine in it, which keeps you skipping a step as you walk out of the supermarket, it makes you feel good about the whole experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where you can still get a cheaper cuppa<\/p>\n

Hungry Jacks still offers barista coffee from $2.75 via its app, with every fifth one free and an additional free coffee on a customer\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

Many caf\u00e9s still offer customers loyalty cards that allow them to earn a free coffee for making multiple purchases. <\/p>\n

Popular Sydney chain Bourke Street Bakery, for instance, does this for every 10th coffee.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The days of free and discounted coffees may be over.\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n

Then there are retailers such as Jax Tyre & Auto, which offers customers free coffee while they wait for their tyre balances and changes and scheduled services.<\/p>\n

But it seems the writing is on the wall for coffee perks like this, as cost of living pressures continue for business and consumers alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It appears the days of free and discounted coffee may soon be over. A second Woolworths location \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":768456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-768455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}