Battle of the Burgers: BK Wins the Crown

Burger King is the nation’s favourite fast food outlet on the motorway reveals Motorpoint.

Whether it’s a quick stop for fuel, a much-needed caffeine hit or a well-deserved break to stretch your legs, service stations are certainly a welcome sight for the weary traveller.  A recent study by Motorpoint, the UK’s largest independent car retailer, has revealed the way in which the British public utilise service stations in 2018, with many sharing their guilty pleasures and expectations when it comes to what’s on offer.

Burger King claimed the crown of the nation’s preferred fast food outlet, with 51.7% of those surveyed listing the restaurant as their go-to service station outlets. Other popular places to grab a bite to eat whilst on the road included McDonalds (50.1%), Costa (41.7%), M&S Simply Food (40.7%), and Subway (37.5%).

It appears we’re more patriotic than we may have realised when it comes to coffee, with Britain trumping America on the beverage front. According to research, 41.7% voted for  British-owned Costa as their go-to for a caffeine hit on the road, compared to just 23.4% who opted for US giant Starbucks. Despite this, 19.1% of those asked stated they would plan a journey around a Starbucks on the Go.  The study also shows that 78.1% of Newcastle residents love a Greggs, voting it to be their favourite place to make a stop on long journeys. Bristolians were revealed to be the most traditional in terms of their eating habits, citing Little Chef are their number one roadside eatery, gaining 47.4% of their votes.

Convenience was seen to be a huge draw for the millennial generation – 10.7% of whom voted a drive-thru as a key feature they prefer to use when visiting motorway services.  Looking deeper into this key finding, the research also found that the most wanted drive-thru outlets at a service station are McDonald’s (49%), Burger King (42%) and Subway (39%).

Although we’re only likely to spend a minimal amount of time within a service station, the survey revealed that expectations for service stations are still high. Overall, clean toilets were deemed to be the biggest priority of 56.1% asked, closely followed by general cleanliness of the services as a whole (50.1%) and the variety of food options available (41.7%).

Men, it seems, are the more frugal of the sexes. While clean toilets and general cleanliness took the top two places for both sexes, price point featured in male’s top three important factors, whereas women stated that they would much prefer a variety of food and drink instead.

Whilst we may not actively seek out service stations in our daily lives, they can be a welcome break on the lengthier journeys we sometimes have to make, though one not-so-lucky survey panellist may not agree: “We spent six hours in one after writing off our car. The novelty wears off after a while.”
Alison Weatherley, Head of Marketing at Motorpoint, commented on the findings, “if you’re putting in the miles then motorway service stations are a necessary part of any lengthy journey. Many of us may not think we have a preference when it comes to where we stop, but the results certainly show that there are firm favourites amongst the Great British public, with Burger King and McDonald’s coming out on top.  Expectations are definitely high regarding the levels of cleanliness, price and variety of food and drink on offer. It was interesting to see that drive-thru options – adding further convenience – were also ranked highly, especially by the younger generations.”

What do our readers think?  Is Burger King your favourite fast food option at the motorway services?