Visits to coffee chains have been on the rise recently, with overall traffic to the category up 1.8% year-over-year in Q1 2025, said foot traffic research firm Placer.ai. “Much of the increase can be attributed to the aggressive expansions of small and medium coffee chains such as Dutch Bros (13.4% year-over-year increase in visits in Q1 2025), Scooter’s Coffee (+15.3% year over year) and 7 Brew Coffee (+87.3%),” wrote Placer.ai.

Meanwhile, the research firm reported that visits to “coffee leaders” Starbucks and Dunkin’ remained relatively stable—falling by 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively, in line with the wider QSR Q1 2025 year-over-year visit gap of 1.6%. “Contrasting the growth of smaller coffee chains with Starbucks and Dunkin’s minor traffic dips may suggest that consumers prefer to spend their limited discretionary funds on unique or decadent treats instead of on classic drinks and pastries.”

Starbucks “continues to dominate” the coffee category, said Placer.ai, receiving over half of combined visits to Starbucks, Dunkin’, Dutch Bros, Scooter’s Coffee and 7 Brew Coffee, according to the research. At the same time, the QSRs relative visit share fell from 55.8% in Q1 2024 to 51.2% in Q1 2025 as smaller chains continued growing and expanding. 

In Q1 2025, the majority of visitors to most other coffee chains (51.3% of Dunkin’ visitors, 65.7% of Dutch Bros and 58.4% of 7 Brew visitors) also visited a Starbucks in the same period. This means that Starbucks still commands a “strong central position, attracting a majority of coffee-goers and enjoying significant loyalty.”

Last month, NACS Daily reported that Dutch Bros plans to operate over 2,000 shops by the year 2029. In Q1, the QSR opened 27 shops by March 24, and planned to open up to three additional shops by the end of the quarter.