A recent poll carried out by thinkmoney, providers of budget bank accounts, revealed that coffee shops are getting the benefit of nearly £30 million annually from their customers, amounting to around £80,000 per day in Scotland alone. Some Scots admitted to spending 100s of pounds on their morning caffeine boost each year.

More than 30 percent of Scots make a minimum of one visit per week to a coffee shop as do 17 million adults throughout the United Kingdom.

Some customers spend enough to buy their own coffee machine
Of the 2,000 adults participating in the poll, 1 in 10 stated that they made 5 to 10 visits to coffee shops each month meaning the least they could spend would be approximately £220 annually. For those who confessed to visiting coffee shops in excess of 15 times a month, spending more than £500 annually on their coffee, it would be possible to purchase a state of the art espresso machine with enough coffee to keep them happy for a year.

60 percent of coffee shop customers spend around £5 per visit, and 1.5 million people admitted to spending in excess of £10 on food and hot drinks.

With a coffee shop on almost every high street, at airports and in railway stations, whether large chains like Starbucks that sell set ranges of drinks; or small outlets selling high quality and single origin coffee, it’s apparent that Britain’s coffee culture is booming and here to stay.

Are customers spending too much or is the cost justified?
However, Ian Williams from thinkmoney believes than many people might be surprised by what they are spending each year on coffee and perhaps should be more careful with their money.

At the Coffee Wholesalers we think these figures are very interesting but they don’t take into account that coffee shops have, over recent years, become business meeting, study and work places. It may be that a person who visits 15 times a month is using their local coffee shop for business negotiations in which case it’s a whole lot cheaper than renting an office.

Coffee shop owners, feel free to comment and don’t forget our special offer – buy 5 kilos of any single origin coffee beans and get one kilo free.