Article content

Tim Hortons is overhauling its loyalty program after coffee and doughnut giveaways dragged down sales in 2019, compounding the coffee chain’s troubles in an already-difficult year.

Sales at Tims fell US$150 million last year, compared to the year previous. José Cil, chief executive at Tim’s parent company Restaurant Brands International, said the Tims Rewards program was partially to blame after it ballooned to 7.5 million members, all regularly redeeming a free coffee or baked good after every seventh purchase.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Tim Hortons overhauls loyalty program after giveaways put a big hole in sales Back to video

“We’ve attracted far more guests to our loyalty program far more quickly than we had planned,” Cil told investors on a conference call on Monday.

We’ve attracted far more guests to our loyalty program far more quickly than we had planned RBI chief executive José Cil

Later this month, Tims Rewards will pivot to a points-based loyalty system. Customers will earn 10 points for every purchase, which they can eventually use to redeem free products.

The move is an attempt to extract more value from the program, which appears to be testing the patience of franchisees.