Ad Age decided to commission Lightspeed Research to find out whether either New Year’s resolutions or a tough economy were turning latte sippers into bean counters.
The survey results reveal that 60% of Americans have scaled back on fancy or expensive coffee in the past six months; 56% report cutting back just since the beginning of the year. The culprit was overwhelmingly the economy, with 90% of survey respondents saying they are doing so to save money. Upmarket coffee “just cost too damned much,” said one respondent. “I don’t drink as much Starbucks as I did before,” said another.
[Editor’s note: The people surveyed clearly haven’t been to Jim and Patty’s on NE Fremont Street in Portland for a Mocha Borgia (mocha with a slice of orange). If they had, they’d be totally hooked.
