America's biggest road-trippers seek out fast food and are prone to snack attacks – Love their Lay's chips, Jack Links Beef Jerky, Hershey's Chocolate and Coca-Cola.
NEW YORK – Outcast announced the findings of its Pulse at the Pump: Road Trip. The findings show that of Outcast’s audience of summer road trippers (61%) scrap their healthy eating habits for fast food—including McDonald’s (44%), Wendy’s (29%), Burger King (29%) and Taco Bell (24%)—which is 33% more likely than the general population.
They are also big fans of Lay’s potato chips (36%), Jack Links beef jerky (33%), Hershey’s chocolate (25%) and Coca-Cola (30%), as the top brands of their respective categories, and would love nothing more than to share it all with Jennifer Aniston and Jimmy Fallon on their next road trip.
Pulse at the Pump is a study designed by Outcast, and administered via notable third-party firm, Equation Research, to drill down on some unique insights from the American driver, including its audience of 38MM sophisticated, multi-tasking drivers who are hard to reach through traditional media.
“Outcast and Equation are working together to measure the ever-changing habits of the American driver,” says Chris Burke, Vice President of Research Strategy at Equation. “The Pulse at the Pump study is particularly interesting, as it measures not only the American public, but the shifts in attitude of those who are regular Outcast viewers, making for a highly relevant, timely series of statistics.”
The Outcast viewer is twice as likely as the general population to head out on a road trip, planning to take 3.5 trips this summer with 37% hitting the road for Memorial Day. And they won’t be alone, as they are 54% more likely to have 3+ people in the car – than the general population – when they roll out.
“Outcast drivers are by definition ‘road hogs,’ racking up 107 billion miles on their vehicles each year, which is 50% more than the general population average,” says Outcast Co-founder and CRO, Nathan Gill. “They are a perfect barometer for all things relating to road trips, from snacks to vehicles. They’re a pretty sophisticated group, but they like to indulge in snacks and fast food – especially when they’re on a road trip.”
Outcast road trippers overwhelmingly believe that Toyota (32%) makes the most fuel efficient vehicles, followed by Honda (20%), Ford (10%), Kia (9%) and Hyundai (9%). This is important, because they are 6.5x more likely to be in market for a car in the next month, and 7x more likely in the next 3 months. When asked about their dream car, top auto brands included BMW (10.4%), Ford (8.2%) and Chevy (8.1%).
More statistic on road trippers:
Convenience Store Habits:
– 60% of Outcast viewers go into the c-store more than half of the time on summer road trips (65% more likely than the general population)
– 68% of road trippers go into a c-store after fueling up
– Only half know exactly what they’re going to purchase before going into the convenience store, while the other half like to peruse for whatever snack jumps out at them
C-Store Snacks/Beverages Preferences by Category:
– In the “Potato Chip/Salty” category, Lay’s (35%), Doritos (13%) and Pringles (7%) stood out
– For “Candy/Chocolate” Hershey (25%), M&Ms (14%) and Reese’s (11%) were most popular
– With “Beef Jerky/Meat Snacks,” Jack Link’s (33%), Slim Jim (15%) and Oberto (6%) were preferred
– Coca-Cola (30%), Pepsi (16%) and Mountain Dew (10%) lead the way in the “Soda” category
– Dasani (12%) edged out Poland Springs (10%) and Aquafina (9%) for “Water”
– There was a three-way tie (11%) in the “Bottled/Ready-to-Drink Beverages” category between Gatorade, Snapple and Starbucks.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
