Waitrose hoping there's still magic in those freebie beans

When Waitrose first introduced its “free coffee” loyalty scheme in 2013, it was met with mixed success.

- JAMES MOORE

Some shoppers relished a complimentary daily cup, while others blamed the scheme for attracting the “wrong type” of clientele to the upmarket supermarket chain.

So contentious was the initiative that it even stoked a (minor) political row. Former shadow communities minister Andy Sawford moaned that the offer could “further destroy the British high street” by stealing business from small independent coffee shops – to which ex-prime minister David Cameron responded by saying he didn’t know what “people were complaining about”. Cameron didn’t get much right but that was an instance where he had his finger on the pulse.

Since then, the Waitrose scheme’s terms and conditions have chopped and changed with the weather. But its cancellation during the pandemic created a very British storm of controversy. Its partial return was widely celebrated.