• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 11, 2010

Of the 37% of U.S. adults who report having eaten breakfast at a fast-food chain in the past month, nearly half (46%) report having patronized McDonald's for that meal, compared to 19% for Dunkin' Donuts, 19% for Starbucks and 12% for Burger King, according to a new Scarborough Research analysis of the QSR breakfast market

The study also sheds light on the frequency of fast-food breakfasting in key U.S. markets -- and North Carolina appears to be the biggest hot spot. Markets in which the largest percentages of adults reported eating breakfast in QSRs in the past month include Greensboro, N.C. (56%), Boston (55%), Raleigh, N.C. (51%), Charlotte, N.C. (49%), Greenville, S.C. (49%) and Providence, R.I. (49%).

According to Scarborough, Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte and Greenville have higher-than-average quick-service restaurant usage overall, while Boston and Providence have certain demographic attributes that mirror those of the fast-food restaurant diner, such as a higher-than-average representation of single adults.

The major QSR chains "have always understood the importance of localism and continue to adapt their marketing, menu options and promotional efforts to suit the distinctions of the locals," noted Alisa Joseph, VP advertiser marketing services for Scarborough.

Markets with the lowest reported incidences of fast-food breakfast dining include Spokane, Wash., Tucson, Ariz. and the Harrisburg/ Lancaster/Lebanon/York, Pa. region (each showing 25%), Green Bay/ Appleton, Wis. (24%), Des Moines/Ames, Iowa (22%) and Salt Lake City (19%).

The study also found that fast-food breakfast diners are, on average, 16% more likely to be from Gen Y (age 18-29), 13% more likely to be African-American, and 11% more likely to be Hispanic as compared with the general adult population. Adults from households with incomes of $100,000+, and those with a college education or advanced degrees, are more likely to go the QSR breakfast route than those in less affluent income brackets and those with lower levels of education.

In addition, fast-food breakfast eaters tend to have very active lifestyles. They are 14% more likely than the average adult to belong to a health/fitness club, and enjoy athletic activities, including soccer (25% more likely), basketball (18% more likely), tennis (18% more likely), jogging/running (17% more likely) and golf (16% more likely).

At the same time, the results point to a critically important role for online marketing in this extremely competitive restaurant daypart. Fast-food breakfast diners are 18% more likely than the average adult to spend 20+ hours online per week, and more likely to engage in a wide range of Net activities. These include fantasy sports (35% more likely to have engaged in past month); social networking sites such as Facebook (26% more likely); instant messaging (24% more likely); and blogging (21% more likely).

They also engage more frequently in online accessing of news (16% more likely than average), weather (15% more likely) and sports scores (23% more likely), and in downloading music (25% more likely), video games (21% more likely), movies (28% more likely) and coupons (22% more likely).

In addition, they are 29% more likely to receive coupons via email or text messaging, and more likely to use coupons in general for groceries and other services.

Noting that some QSR chains already offer Wi-Fi to attract active, connected consumers and encourage them to linger and buy additional items, Joseph pointed out that there are other opportunities in leveraging Wi-Fi to offer digital coupons while consumers are on site.