Americans outspend Europeans per head in McDonald’s
America’s new president elect, Barack Obama, may be promising to improve the American economy but one thing he is unlikely to change is his country’s hefty consumption of burgers.
Latest figures from Horizons show that an average US citizen spends $94.06 (€66.74) a year in McDonald's, while the average European spends only a third as much at €19.47.
At one time there was talk of European consumption of McDonald's catching that of America, but that now seems unlikely. Cultural differences are the key issue and while we like our burgers, we don't like them quite as much as Americans do. Europe also offers a more diversified range of foods, so we have more choice in the high street.
Having said that, there are plenty of countries in Europe that have lots of catching up to do when it comes to consumption of burgers - especially in the former Eastern bloc. Over the past 10 years we have seen massive growth in consumption in Ireland and Spain and, when economies improve, we are most likely to see further growth for McDonald's, and other fast food chains that take the plunge, in countries such as Poland, Hungary and the former Yugoslav republics.
APPENDIX
Spend per head
• The average US citizen spends $94.06 (€66.74) per year in McDonald's - the average European spends only a third as much (€19.47)
• For Yum! Brands - Pizza Hut and KFC - the average spend per person in the US is 12 times the European figure
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European and US spend per head in the Top 5 US operators |
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2006 |
2007 |
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Europe |
Europe: € |
Europe: € |
USA: € |
USA: $ |
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McDonald's |
16.54 |
19.47 |
66.74 |
94.06 |
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Yum! Brands |
3.25 |
3.43 |
42.82 |
58.59 |
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Burger King |
2.60 |
2.65 |
21.45 |
29.35 |
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Subway |
0.74 |
0.91 |
19.79 |
27.07 |
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Starbucks |
0.77 |
0.90 |
17.44 |
23.86 |
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Source: Horizons