Square Report Says Coffee Shops Are the Leading Local Business Connectors

New data from Square suggests coffee shops do more than cultivate community within their own four walls. They may also help knit nearby businesses together.

In a new “Local Economy Report,” Square said coffee shops and casual dining businesses serve as the most common “neighborhood connectors,” sharing more “regular” customers with nearby businesses.

In the report, a “regular” customer was defined as someone who made purchases from the same business on four different days within a year. Among those customers, 32% also qualified as regulars at another business within the same zip code during the year.

For cafe operators, the takeaway may be the outsize role coffee shops play in local commercial districts, serving as repeat-visit anchors for other business types, such as salons, auto shops or pet groomers.

Local Dollars

The findings are part of a broader Square assessment that regular customers remain the lifeblood of neighborhood commerce.

According to the Square data, regular customers generated six times more annual revenue than “transient” visitors on average. Square also said regular-customer revenue rose 7.67% in 2025, outpacing overall revenue growth of 6.97%, even as transient revenue declined. Additionally, regulars tipped 11% more on average than transient customers.

Consistency and Habits

Square’s food-and-beverage data also noted the strength of habit among repeat cafe customers, saying regulars place approximately the same order 59% of the time. This suggests consistency can help drive loyalty, according to Square.

Consumer surveys included in the report showed that 56% of respondents said knowledgeable staff make a local business memorable. Among respondents, 44% said delivery or in-store pickup options would make them more likely to frequent a local business, while 39% said the same of mobile payments and digital loyalty programs. It should be noted that Square offers products associated with features such as digital loyalty and delivery.

Square said the findings were drawn from aggregated transaction-level data from January 2019 through December 2025, along with a survey of 994 U.S. consumers conducted between Sept. 23 and Dec. 30, 2025.

Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.