What’s the only thing that can make a Monday morning better? Correct, a cup of coffee. You probably pass dozens of coffee houses on your way to work., so which do you prefer? We used social data to determine the favorite coffee shop in each city.

The Analysis

We’ve taken a look at 43 different coffee twitter accounts and tracked over 15,000 cities across the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, to determine consumer preference based on location. This interactive map displays the results

What did we find?

According to social, Starbucks dominates the industry. The majority of the cities we’ve analyzed prefer Starbucks to any other brand. Dunkin Donuts has some strong holds in the Northeast because the company is based in Massachusetts. Tim Hortons, a Canadian brand, unsurprisingly wins over some Canadian cities. But overall, Starbucks reigns supreme.

The Stats

Starbuck’s first store was in Seattle. They now have over 21,000 stores worldwide. Dunkin Donuts has 11,000 stores and Tim Hortons has just over 4,500. Besides the fact that Starbucks outnumbers any other brand, they also have a stellar social strategy. They have been recognized for their outstanding customer relations, visual displays, and consistent branding. But there is another piece to the puzzle. The map confirms that they geographically overshadow all other coffee brands. When you look at Seattle on the map, obviously Starbucks is the city’s preference. And when you look at the surrounding cities, no other brands even make an appearance. This cannot be said for other areas on the map; even where other strongholds appear, there is a sprinkling of other brand preferences nearby. So how is this the case for Seattle? Location breeds loyalty.

Location! Location! Location!

Even in this digital age where everything happens online, people still live in physical locations and naturally have an attraction for them. There is a psychology involved that shows that consumers will instinctively gravitate towards the predominant brand of a region. This means that that they are influenced by brand marketing even more so when it is location specific. Starbucks takes advantage of this by posting images of specific storefronts and employees, announcing any new store openings, and having separate social media accounts (in addition to their main company account) for specific locations.

Using this information, other brands can improve their followings. They can focus on areas where they have true customer loyalty and gain more traction. Brands can branch out from there and target similar consumers when they are looking to expand.

So aren’t you wondering which coffee brand your city prefers? Find out here