08-08-2025
Sweetgreen blames 2Q sales declines on consumer environment, loyalty program switch
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Sweetgreen Inc. — the Los Angeles-based, fast-casual salad chain — reported same-store sales declines of 7.6% and a10.1% decrease in traffic for the second quarter ended June 29. This marks two quarters in a row of declining same-store sales and traffic for the brand, which was partially offset by an increase in menu prices.
'Sweetgreen's second quarter results reflected a convergence of several headwinds, including macroeconomic pressures, a challenging comparison to last year's strong Q2, and the transition of our loyalty program,' Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, said in a statement. 'While we're not satisfied with today's results, we're confident in our ability to improve in the back half of 2025.'
Sweetgreen first introduced a loyalty app in April 2023 and then, two years later, swapped its tier-based program to a more traditional points-based one, with SG Rewards officially replacing Sweetpass in April 2025. At the time, Neman said he hoped the new app would help improve the company's value proposition among cash-strapped customers.
'Early signs from our new loyalty program are encouraging. Our summer menu is bringing customers back more often, and we remain fully committed to raising the bar on execution across every restaurant,' Neman added.
Despite these ongoing challenges, Sweetgreen raised its guidance from $700 million in revenue to $715 million in revenue for the remainder of the fiscal year, and predicted same-store sales would be down by 4% instead of the 6% declines originally predicted.
Sweetgreen reported a modest 0.5% increase in revenue for the second quarter ended June 29, from $184.6 million to $185.6 million, with digital revenues up to over 60%. The revenue increase was primarily attributable to the 33 net store openings during the particularly strong second quarter of 2024 but was offset by the declines in traffic and same-store sales.
The company swung to a loss of $23.2 million for the second quarter vs. a loss of $14.5 million in the same quarter the year prior.
Sweetgreen opened nine new restaurants in the second quarter.
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