News

McDonald's, Starbucks cited as Millennials' 'guilty pleasures'

July 30, 2014

A new report from mobile financial services company Level Money examines how Millennial consumers spend their money on "guilty pleasures." According to a news release, the report analyzed spending activity of Americans aged 18 to 35 during the first half of 2014. It specifically examined how the group spent their money on coffee, alcohol and fast food.

While Starbucks and McDonald's still lead as top brands for coffee and fast food purchases, respectively, Millennials are branching out, the report said: McDonald's lead among Millennials is 2-to-1, compared to a 3-to-1 lead among the general population.

The following are the top fast food restaurants with Millennials nationwide (and percentage of users for each):

1. McDonald's, with 11.7 percent of total fast food purchases
2. Chipotle, with 6.4 percent
3. Subway, with 6.2 percent
4. Taco Bell, with 4.6 percent
5. Chick-Fil-A, with 4.2 percent

The top coffee shop brands with Millennials nationwide (and percentage of users for each) are:

1. Starbucks, with 45.5 percent of total coffee shop purchases
2. Dunkin' Donuts, with 12.9 percent
3. Peet's Coffee, with 1.2 percent
4. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, with 0.9 percent
5. Tim Horton's, with 0.9 percent

Other findings include:

Top states for coffee shop purchases:

1. Maine

2. Massachusetts

3. New Hampshire

4. Connecticut

5. Washington

States with the lowest coffee shop spending:

46. Utah

47. Wyoming

48. West Virginia

49. North Dakota

50. Mississippi

Top states for fast food purchases:

1. Oklahoma

2. Kansas

3. Texas

4. Virginia

5. Maryland

States with the lowest fast food purchases:

46. Montana

47. Pennsylvania

48. New York

49. Connecticut

50. Vermont