Have You Taken Sides in the Coffee Wars?

Apparently there is a coffee war on in the U.S. and things are heating up. As of June 4th here is where the combatants stand:

#1 Starbucks
#2 McDonald s
#3 Dunkin Donuts

According to an analysis of BIGresearch’s May 2009 Consumer Intentions & Actions (CIA) Survey  published on the Direct Marketing Association website 9.2 percent of consumers frequent Starbucks most often.

The results are not surprising if you have ever been into a Starbucks or McDonalds. It will be interesting to see wher McDonalds spends its $100 million dollars in their new advertising campaign know the results of this survey.

Here are some of the findings.

Age Difference
McDonald’s coffee drinkers tend to be older than Starbucks drinkers with an average age of 47.7 (vs.  39.2 for Starbucks drinkers).
46.8 percent of Starbucks drinkers are in the 18-34 age range, compared to 25.8 percent for McDonald’s.

Marital Status
More Starbucks coffee drinkers are single at 29.1 percent vs. 19 percent of McDonald’s drinkers.

Socio-economics
Starbucks customers have a higher percentage of customers with professional/managerial positions at their place of work – 27.2 percent vs.15.7 percent at McDonals.  They also report a higher annual income of $67,487 vs.  $55,572. (You need the higher income to afford a Starbucks!)

Miscellaneous Findings

• 33.7 percent of McDonald’s coffee drinkers are confident/very confident in the economy, vs.  30.3 percent of Starbucks drinkers.
• 26.4 percent of McDonald’s drinkers feel better about their economic situation, vs.  34.4 percent of Starbucks drinkers.
• 72.7 percent of McDonald’s drinkers are focusing more on needs over wants, vs.  65.7 percent of Starbucks drinkers.
• 44.2 percent of McDonald’s drinkers are buying more store brand/generics vs.  36.2 percent of Starbucks drinkers.
• 20.8 percent of McDonald’s drinkers are starting to spend more on discretionary items, vs.  21.4 percent of Starbucks drinkers.

For additional complimentary data and charts: http://info.bigresearch.com/.

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