NUMBER OF THE DAY
How Our Coffee Consumption Is Changing, by the Numbers
Dunkin’ and Starbucks report that we’re drinking our morning coffees later than we used to
Four hours: That’s how much later in the day peak traffic hours have moved at Dunkin’ coffee shops since the beginning of the pandemic, says Dunkin’ CFO Katherine Jaspon, as reported in Business Insider. Instead of picking up a cup of joe during their daily morning commutes, many now-remote workers are opting to get their first cup of coffee during a midday break between Zoom meetings. The morning rush for coffee has shifted from between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. to between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
It’s not just Dunkin’ that’s experiencing this phenomenon. Starbucks has reported experiencing a similar shift in its peak hours, with most of its customers coming in between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. It’s just one of many changes that Starbucks has seen since the pandemic began, including an overall decline in foot traffic that’s led to an increased focus on grab-and-go stores. This time shift might reflect either a revealed preference for what time most us would like to be caffeinated, the fact that we can’t rely on an office coffee pot to fix our afternoon slump, or, more simply, that without a morning commute, people are starting their days…
