TL;DR: What We Found
Quarters analyzed millions of transaction dollars to understand how consumers actually spend, where their loyalty goes, and what influences their decisions.
Every income band allocates roughly 25–30% to lifestyle spending. Lower earners skew toward food. Higher earners skew toward entertainment and health. Same percentage, completely different behavior.
Consumers with the most local options allocate 9 points less wallet share to national brands. International stays steady. Local replaces national, not global.
The highest-spending consumers spread their wallet across the most merchants. For businesses, that means your best customer is almost certainly someone else's best customer too — and reaching them requires standing out, not just showing up.
Our Data Methodology
This report analyzes millions of transaction dollars from Quarters users. Quarters users primarily consist of Millennials and Gen Zers in urban areas. All data has been aggregated and anonymized to protect user privacy while providing accurate benchmarks.
Data Sources
- Quarters transaction data across all spending categories
- Partner-matched transactions across thousands of local and national businesses
- Boost and reward engagement data
Key Definitions
Total consumer spend excluding direct housing costs (rent, mortgage, etc.)
Food & beverage + shopping + entertainment + health & wellness combined
Consumers with 3+ months of transaction history for statistical reliability
Percentage of consumer-merchant relationships that span 2+ months
How Consumers Spend: The Full Picture
The median consumer's annual financial footprint.
Spending Tiers: Not All Consumers Are Equal
The top 25% of consumers spend nearly 9x more than the bottom 25% — but the allocation across categories stays remarkably consistent.
| Spending Tier | Monthly Spend | Annual Spend | Txns/Month | Food % | Shopping % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom 25% | $635 | $7,616 | 14 | 20.3% | 26.1% |
| 25–50% | $1,640 | $19,674 | 42 | 25.9% | 30.7% |
| 50–75% | $2,770 | $33,235 | 58 | 28.9% | 23.4% |
| Top 25% | $5,583 | $66,990 | 64 | 19.2% | 28.6% |
Where the Dollar Goes
Category breakdown of the median consumer's monthly spend.
| Category | Monthly | Annual | % of Spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping & Lifestyle | $504 | $6,044 | 23.6% |
| Food & Beverage | $496 | $5,952 | 23.3% |
| Travel & Transport | $223 | $2,677 | 10.5% |
| Essentials | $191 | $2,295 | 9.0% |
| Health & Wellness | $60 | $719 | 2.8% |
| Entertainment | $27 | $324 | 1.3% |
The Food & Beverage Deep Dive
Consumers spend $5,952/year on food and beverage. Here's exactly where it goes.
Just over half of every food dollar goes to eating out, delivery, and morning coffee — with groceries close behind.
| Food Subcategory | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $236 | $2,832 |
| Restaurants | $164 | $1,968 |
| Fast Food | $62 | $744 |
| Cafes & Coffee | $34 | $408 |
The Behavioral Split: How Lifestyle Predicts Food Spend
Gym members spend 3x more at restaurants — but their fast food share is nearly half. Health-conscious consumers eat out more, not less. They just choose differently.
Delivery doesn't cannibalize dining out. It signals a high-engagement food consumer who spends 3.2x more on food overall.
Where Wallet Share Goes
How consumer spending distributes across local, national, and international businesses — and what shifts as consumers discover more options.
Wallet Share by Business Type
| Business Type | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| International Largest share | $641 | $7,688 |
| National | $419 | $5,033 |
| Local | $129 | $1,548 |
The Share Shift: What Happens As Consumers Discover Local
We split consumers into quartiles based on how many local businesses they support (including regional businesses). The pattern is clear: as consumers discover more local options, national chains lose wallet share. International brands are unaffected.
Loyalty & Habit Formation
How quickly consumer habits form — and what separates businesses that retain from those that don't.
The 90-Day Window
When a consumer first visits a business, a clock starts. Our data shows how quickly that first visit either becomes a habit or fades away.
Nearly all retention is won or lost in the first month. After 30 days, the return rate only increases by 17 more points over the next 60 days. If you can't give a consumer a reason to come back in the first 30 days, you've likely lost them.
Consumer Segments That Predict Spending
Not all consumers spend the same way. Income, lifestyle, and behavior create distinct segments with predictable patterns.
Lifestyle Allocation Is Constant Across Income
Regardless of income, consumers allocate roughly the same percentage to lifestyle. What changes is where within lifestyle the money goes.
Buy Now Pay Later Users: A Distinct Financial Profile
They're not reckless spenders. They're stretching to afford the same categories everyone else buys.
Subscription Landscape
| Subscriptions Detected | % of Users |
|---|---|
| 0 subscriptions | 34% |
| 1–2 subscriptions | 54% |
| 3+ subscriptions | 12% |
The majority of consumers carry 1–2 detectable subscription services (Netflix, Spotify, etc.). Subscription count correlates with overall spending — consumers with 3+ subscriptions spend 2.5x more monthly than those with none.
What Makes Consumers Choose You
The difference between a transaction and a relationship — and what the data says about how businesses earn loyalty.
Targeted Rewards Drive Real Acquisition
Nobody Owns Their Customer
85% of consumers who visit one franchise also visit a direct competitor. The average consumer spreads their spending across 73 merchants. Loyalty isn't given — it's earned, repeatedly, with every interaction.
One local habit seeds an entire local spending pattern. Consumers who buy coffee locally spend 3.4x more at local businesses overall.
The High-Value Consumer
The highest-spending consumers in our data engage with the most merchants and spread their wallet the widest. They're the customers every business wants — and every competitor is also trying to reach.
When the reward is meaningful — not a points balance they'll never redeem, but real progress toward a financial goal like saving for a home — consumers don't just engage more. They choose businesses on purpose. And a customer who chose you on purpose is worth exponentially more than one who wandered in.
Key Takeaways for Businesses
What this data means for how you reach and retain consumers.
Know Your Consumer's Full Wallet
You see your average ticket. You don't see the $25,000/year they spend elsewhere. Understanding the full picture changes how you compete.
Relevance Over Reach
Generic coupons ignore that your customers have different incomes, lifestyles, and habits. Offers matched to real behavior convert. Everything else is noise.
Win the First 30 Days
Nearly all retention is decided in the first month. If you can't give a new customer a reason to return in 30 days, you've likely lost them to one of the other 72 merchants they visit.
Make the Reward Matter
Your highest-value customers are also your competitor's highest-value customers. A meaningful, targeted reward is the difference between capturing their spend and watching it go elsewhere.
Ready to reach the right consumer at the right moment?
Quarters connects businesses with financially engaged consumers through targeted rewards that actually matter.
Learn more about Quarters