What Does the Luckin Coffee Price Increase Mean for Buyers?
Luckin Coffee raised listed drink prices at stores in some Chinese regions at the start of 2025, with the coconut latte moving from 29 yuan at office-building and ordinary commercial-district stores to 32 yuan. Voucher rules and group-buy coupon redemption also changed, so some drinks now require an extra payment even after a voucher is applied. Most cities remain unaffected.
The company attributes the adjustment to materials, transportation, and commercial-district factors, and says policies vary by coffee store location. The practical effect is that the 9.9 yuan discount keeps shrinking: users report 29-yuan coupons now cover only the coconut Americano, while stronger Americanos and lattes need added payment and some group-buy items were swapped out.
At the start of 2025, Luckin Coffee quietly adjusted drink prices at stores in some regions, sparking widespread discussion among consumers. Many netizens noticed that the coconut latte, originally priced at 29 yuan, had risen to 32 yuan even at non-mall stores, and the rules for using vouchers and the drinks redeemable with group-buy coupons also changed accordingly. Although most cities remain unaffected, the scope of the 9.9 yuan discount continues to shrink. Luckin officially attributes the price adjustment to factors involving materials, transportation, and commercial districts, with store policies varying by location. Does this price fluctuation mean the era of affordable coffee is coming to an end? And how should consumers respond?
▲
Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop
Recently, many users on social platforms have posted complaints: "The first cut of 2025 is Luckin raising prices," "The first backstab of the New Year is Luckin raising prices."
From screenshots of mini-program orders shared by consumers, in the past, at Luckin stores in office buildings and ordinary commercial districts, the coconut latte was priced at 29 yuan, and only stores in large shopping malls charged 32 yuan. But after New Year's Day, on the menus of many nearby Luckin stores, the product was uniformly displayed as 32 yuan.
The increase in listed prices also directly affected the actual amount paid after discounts. Some users holding vouchers reported that they used to be able to place orders directly with a voucher, but now for some drinks they still need to pay the difference even after using a voucher. "I originally had a 29-yuan voucher, but now for a regular one I still have to add three yuan, and for new items I have to add 6 yuan. The 29-yuan one can only be used for that coconut Americano."
In addition, some netizens pointed out that after the store price increase, the drinks redeemable with previously stockpiled group-buy coupons also changed. "The long-term 29-yuan coupons I stockpiled earlier can now only buy extra-strength Americano or latte." "The group-buy deals I bought before all had their contents changed. All the good ones were taken down, leaving a bunch of bad ones."
This sudden change caught Luckin fans off guard, and they rushed to open the mini-program to confirm whether they could still keep drinking the 9.9-yuan "life-saving water." Fortunately, according to feedback from netizens in various places, this price adjustment seems to have appeared only in some regions, and most users said their cities had not yet seen price increases and they could still enjoy the happiness of 9.9-yuan coffee.
However, Luckin's move to raise drink prices in some regions still made some netizens feel uneasy. They mentioned that, in fact, since last year many Luckin stores had already reduced the scope of application of the 9.9-yuan discount coupons, saying bluntly that "there are too few drinks you can get for 9.9." Other users said the number of discount coupons they received in their mini-program accounts had decreased, and the discount strength was far less than before.
Now, Luckin stores in some regions are quietly making big moves, raising prices without warning and modifying the drink options redeemable with already-purchased vouchers, making many fans worry whether the good life of a 9.9-yuan cup of coffee is nearing its end.
Regarding consumer feedback about drink price increases, some media outlets sought verification from Luckin. Several stores in Shanghai and Guangdong said they had not yet received notice of drink price increases, but stores in Sichuan and Zhejiang said Luckin had indeed raised prices starting New Year's Day 2025. A Luckin store in Hangzhou said that starting January 1, stores in some commercial districts uniformly set the line, with drinks all rising by 3 yuan, and after the 20% discount, rising by about 1.2 yuan.
The official response said that due to the influence of materials, transportation costs, and comprehensive factors in commercial districts, stores have different discount strengths, so prices are not quite the same, and the specific price is subject to the store menu. Luckin customer service said that no notice of price adjustment has been received at present, and currently only some drinks enjoy the 9.9-yuan special redemption offer, but the specific price should still be based on what is shown in the app.
Image source: Internet
Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the Internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, there may be individual images or texts that have not yet been credited in time. Please understand. If the original author has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is any infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
