Starbucks is seeing big upticks in business in places where vaccinations are on the rise, CEO Kevin Johnson said Thursday.
“Consumer mobility shot through the roof and … we started seeing traffic increasing in our stores,” Johnson told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in a “Mad Money” interview. He also said that Starbucks’ same-store sales are surpassing pre-pandemic levels in regions where consumers are being vaccinated.
The relation between higher business activity and increasing vaccination rates is simple, Johnson said. The company found that when at least 35% or more of adults were vaccinated against the virus in a market, governments begin easing Covid restrictions, making way for business to rebound.
Johnson added the U.S. is acting as a bellwether for global markets as countries inoculate citizens against Covid-19 and roll back health restrictions.
“We now see that happening in Mexico, we’re starting to see that happen in Europe,” he added. “Every market around the world is going to see exactly what the United States has experienced here over the last 90 days.”
Seattle-based Starbucks has a presence in 80 countries and draws the majority of its revenues in the U.S.
