Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson said that sales are recovering as the coffee chain moves toward normalizing its operations.

“Over the last week, we have now regained about 60-65 per cent of prior year comparable U.S. store sales while reopening under modified operations and with reduced hours,” Johnson said in a statement. “In China, we have seen progress as well and our comparable store sales have reached about 80 per cent of prior year levels, reflecting gradual improvements over the past several weeks.”

The coffee giant is being closely watched as a barometer of consumers’ willingness to leave their homes and open their wallets following the intense lockdown measures that brought much of the economy to a standstill in the U.S. and beyond.

Starbucks shares jumped on the comments, climbing as much as 2.2 per cent in early trading in New York.