Key QSR Insights Among U.S. Hispanic Adults

The United States is a diverse nation of consumers with different wants and needs, backgrounds, opinions, values, and expectations. However, not all voices are always clearly heard, often leading to decision-makers remaining ill-informed.

CivicScience’s robust privacy-centric polling platform, fueled by our media partnerships, enables Americans from all walks of life to be heard and informed. In this series, we’ll take a closer look at Hispanic and Latino American respondents, who represent 19% of the U.S. population.

Here are three key insights about U.S. Hispanic adult consumers regarding QSR dining habits and how they compare to the non-Hispanic U.S. population. For additional insights or to see how your consumers are responding to the latest trends, get in touch.

1. QSR Dining Habits

Consumers have long frequented fast-food restaurants due to their fast service and lower prices. However, price increases, fluctuating restaurant delivery demand (specifically declining interest in pizza delivery), and shorter expected wait times have influenced who dines at QSR restaurants and who doesn’t. 

The latest CivicScience data show that Hispanic Americans eat at fast-food restaurants more frequently than non-Hispanic Americans. They’re slightly more likely to say they dine at them weekly (22% vs. 20%) and much more likely to eat at them monthly (37% vs. 32%). Conversely, Hispanic Americans are less likely to say they ‘never’ dine at QSRs than non-Hispanic adults (13% vs. 15%).

Hispanic Millennials and Gen X adults are more likely to dine at fast-food restaurants ‘weekly’ (24%) than any other age group. However, non-Hispanic Gen Z adults aged 18-24 report the highest weekly consumption overall (28%). When it comes to monthly fast-food consumption, Hispanic Americans report equivalent or higher levels than non-Hispanic Americans across all age groups.

2. Fast-Food Chains That Win

Which chains lead among Hispanic Americans? A close look at several chain categories – burgers, fried chicken, pizza, and tacos – suggests that Hispanic Americans are more favorable to fast-food chains in general than non-Hispanic Americans (with a few exceptions). 

Hispanic Americans are significantly more favorable to McDonald’s – 52% are favorable to the chain, six percentage points higher than non-Hispanic Americans. Wendy’s comes in at a close second at 51%. 

Chick-fil-A is the most popular fried chicken chain by a landslide, with 63% of Hispanic Americans favorable to the chain. And Pizza Hut leads as the most favorable pizza chain, which is also the most favorable chain among the Gen Pop. 

Taco Bell ranks no.1 among other taco chains, followed by Chipotle and Moe’s Southwest Grill.

3. Additional QSR Insights

Here are additional Hispanic American QSR dining trends generated from the CivicScience InsightStore. 

• Hispanic Americans are more likely than non-Hispanic Americans to say they value the speed of service, friendliness of employees, and price when choosing a fast-food restaurant. 
• Nearly 40% of Hispanic Americans are at least ‘somewhat interested’ in buying coffee from fast-food restaurants, which is twelve percentage points higher than non-Hispanic Americans.
• Lunch ranks as the most popular fast-food meal in general, but Hispanic Americans are much more likely to report eating dinner at fast-food restaurants over the last month than non-Hispanic adults. 

CivicScience has a constant pulse on the latest trends influencing Hispanic American consumers. Stay tuned for future insights from our monthly series exploring a variety of categories among Hispanic Americans.