Tracking Dunkin Prices Across Boston
“Boston runs on Dunkin’,” as the namesake company likes to say, and there is certainly some truth to the statement. Dunkin is a staple of many commuters’ daily lives. There are over 1,000 Dunkin’ stores across Massachusetts with these stores providing caffeine to thousands of consumers every day.
Despite the same ubiquitous logo, every Dunkin’ store is not the same. Some shops offer lower prices for the same product than others. So what locations have the best prices? I looked at forty locations in the Boston area, including downtown, Fenway, the medical district, the Back Bay, and Beacon Hill to answer this question, comparing the price of Dunkin’s Original Blend medium coffee across these stores.
Figure 1: Made using data Dunkin’s Mobile App
A deeper dive into where the lowest Dunkin prices are reveals a slight correlation between the number of accommodation and food services establishments in a zip code and the average price of a Dunkin medium original blend coffee. A comparison of two zip codes illustrates this point. Zip code 02120 has the lowest average coffee price of $2.99 but also has only 38 establishments. In contrast, zip code 02116 has the highest average coffee price of $3.67 and over 266 establishments. This correlation may be due greater demand for coffee in the zip codes with greater foot traffic. The demand is greater in these neighborhoods and can support higher prices.
Figure 2: Made using data from MassEconomix and Dunkin’s mobile app.
About the Author: Raif Boit is a Roger Perry Transparency Intern at Pioneer Institute for the summer of 2024. He is a rising freshman at Harvard College.
