Coffee drinkers in America
Coffee plays such an integral part of every day life in America that it may be safe to say that coffee helps the United States go round. In fact, fully 60% of all U.S. households use either whole or ground coffee beans at home. Experian Simmons extensively reviewed the American coffee drinker for this report which features detailed insights into the coffee-drinking American. In addition, we compare the patrons of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, the leading players in the battle for brew.
Coffee in the Home
- The average U.S. household that uses whole or ground coffee consumes 4.2 cups per day. In total that’s about 280.5 million cups of coffee consumed at home by Americans each day or about 102 billion cups per year.
- Among households that use coffee, 89% stock regular coffee and 46% stock decaf.*
- Among households that use coffee, 84% use pre-ground coffee and 26% use whole bean coffee at least some of the time.*
Instant Flavored Coffee
- Over a quarter of households (27%) stock instant coffee.
- Sixteen percent of households use instant flavored coffee. The most commonly used flavors among instant flavored coffee drinkers are:
Older Americans More Likely to Drink Coffee
Fifty-seven percent of adults ages 18-24 live in households that use coffee, but 25 to 34 year olds are the least likely to stock coffee in their cupboards with only 54% reporting they use whole or ground bean coffee at home.
Coffee Use Increases with Household Income
Seventy percent of Americans who report annual household incomes of $150,000+ drink coffee compared with 54% of those with household income less than $25,000.
Dunkin’ Donuts Vs. Starbucks
Dunkin’ Donuts
- 11% of American adults go to DD
- Between 9.15.08 and 9.15.09 the share of DD customers who go there 6+ times a month is up 11%*
- DD consumers are 41% more likely than the average adult to be registered Independents and 9% less likely to be registered Republicans
Starbucks
- 13% of American adults go to Starbucks
- Between 9.15.08 and 9.15.09 the share of Starbucks customers who go there 6+ times a month is down 22%
- Starbucks consumers are 11% more likely to be registered Independents and 11% more likely to be registered Republicans
Coffee Drinkers Are Coffee Drinkers
A majority of coffee-drinking Americans are loyal to their franchise. However, there are a considerable number of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks consumers who jump between coffee houses.
How Often Americans Order Their Coffee
The majority of both Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks customers visit each chain between one and five times in a typical month.
Learn more about Simmons consumer research and studies.