Independent coffee shops are perking up, says Foursquare data

The buzz around coffee is growing, particularly among the so-called third wave coffee lovers, according to new Foursquare research on foot-traffic patterns and store visits.

While pumpkin spice and eggnog lattes still drive a lot of coffee shop traffic–with brand loyalists picking up their favorite drinks at Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and the like–growth was largely driven by independent coffee shops. Those shops saw 5% growth year-over-year, compared to larger coffee chains, which saw less than 1% year-over-year growth. The coffee category over all perked up by 1.7%.

Foursquare gathered their insights by looking at foot traffic patterns and lifestyle preferences of visitors to coffee chains gathered from its apps, Foursquare City Guide and Foursquare Swarm. They discovered that true coffee enthusiasts can be spotted at least four times a week at coffee shops like Blue Bottle Coffee (Nestle’s new pride and joy), as well as the Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee and West Coast joints Peet’s, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Philz.ML