The 2018 Square Australia Coffee Report has revealed that, despite total sales decreasing from 43 to 33 per cent since 2016, the latte remains the country’s most popular coffee drink.
Now in its third year, the annual report from point-of-sale platform Square and the Specialty Coffee Association collects consumer data to identify trends in the Australian coffee industry.
The report says flat whites made up 24 per cent of the marketshare, remaining level with 2017.
Cappuccino sales increased for the second consecutive year to 19 per cent of beverages sold. Cappuccinos amounted to 16 per cent of beverages in 2017, and 12 per cent in 2016.
Lattes were particularly popular in Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia, where they made up 42, 32 and 26 per cent of total beverages sold respectively.
The flat white was the drink of choice for the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, where they amounted to 39, 37, 29, and 28 per cent of respective sales.
New South Wales’ most popular coffee was the cappuccino, which made up 26 per cent of the state’s coffee orders. NSW was also found to offer the most affordable coffee in the country, with a long black costing $3.76 on average.
The most expensive café beverages in Australia are found in NT, where a chai latte costs $6 on average. The report found that, overall, coffee drinkers in NT spend on average $1 more on their drinks than NSW consumers.
Across Australia, the majority of consumers, at 54 per cent, chose to pay with card despite most transactions being less than $5.
Ari Abad, owner of Gold Drops café in Melbourne, says he has noticed tap-and-go payments becoming more popular among our customers.
“Customers used to use spare change for coffee but now they’re moving cashless. For us, the benefit here is speed and convenience, particularly during peak times when taking card payments helps us serve more customers more quickly,” he says.