LONDON, U.K. – A national survey by Market Force Information, a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions, reveals that consumers’ rate Greggs and Prêt à Manger as providing the best coffee experiences, followed by competitors Café Nero, Costa Coffee and Starbucks.
Although 43 per cent of consumers were highly satisfied with their coffee experience, one in ten consumers were dissatisfied.
For the rankings, Market Force polled more than 4,500 consumers in January 2015 who were asked to rate their satisfaction with their last experience at a given coffee shop and their likelihood to recommend it to others.
The data was averaged to rate each restaurant brand on a Composite Loyalty Index.
Wake up and Smell the Coffee!
In addition to the Composite Loyalty Score, Market Force also looked at the attributes that drive consumer preferences for an excellent coffee experience, focusing on eight critical drivers such as service, food quality and value.
Consumers found that brands provide good service, clean restaurants, and high food quality, but have opportunities to improve healthy food options.
Consumers rated Prêt à Manger as being the best on seven of the eight critical drivers of satisfaction. Greggs scored best on only one attribute – value received for money spent. Greggs came in second best on friendliness of staff, speed of service, and store cleanliness.
When coffee locations score well on the eight critical drivers, 95 per cent of consumers will recommend the brand. When coffee locations excel on only one of those critical drivers, only 34 per cent will recommend.
Mobile Apps – Fast Becoming a Favourite with Consumers
Consumers also indicated whether they used the mobile application offered by brands they had recently visited. Of all the respondents surveyed, an average of 60 per cent across all brands didn’t know the brand offered a mobile app which means brands have the opportunity increase awareness of their mobile apps. When consumers know of an app, they had typically downloaded it.
Adoption rate varied by brand, with Greggs having the highest adoption rate (68 per cent),followed by Starbucks (58 per cent), Costa (51 per cent) and lastly Prêt à Manger (36 per cent).
Coffee brands have the opportunity to capture more wallet share in two ways,’ observes Cheryl Flink, Chief Strategy Officer, Market Force.
‘First is focusing on creating a great experience through exceptional execution by every location in the estate, which will create differentiation in a market that has become very competitive. Second, brands can drive awareness and adoption of mobile apps to create a convenient, hassle-free experience.’
Survey Demographics
The survey was conducted online in January 2015 across the United Kingdom. The pool of 4,500 reflected a broad spectrum of income levels, with 67 per cent reporting household incomes between £25,000 and £49,000 a year. Respondents’ ages ranged from 19 to over 65. Approximately 68 per cent were women and 32 per cent were men.
