Starbucks on Tuesday reported better-than-expected sales in its fiscal first quarter as some of its turnaround efforts start to take hold.

The Seattle coffee giant said its revenue was flat at $9.4 billion for the 13-week period ending Dec. 29. That beat Wall Street’s forecast of $9.3 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in September, said customer-focused changes — such as a decision to stop charging extra for non-dairy milk and a streamlining of the menu — were helping to improve service and drive store traffic.

Starbucks is trying to reestablish itself as a gathering place, and this week announced that it will start using ceramic mugs and offering in-store customers free refills of coffee or tea. The company is also trying to appeal to customers with a new rule that requires people to buy something if they want to hang out or use the restroom.

U.S. consumer confidence dipped for the second consecutive month in January, a business research group said Tuesday.

The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index retreated this month to 104.1, from 109.5 in December. That is worse than economist projections for a reading of 105.8.

The consumer confidence index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported last week that credit card balances and delinquencies are on the rise and that active cardholders making the minimum payment is at a 12-year high.

The board said that consumers’ view of current conditions tumbled 9.7 points to a reading of 134.3 in January and views on current labor market conditions fell for the first time since September.