On their last QSR occasion, 19.6 percent of all fast-food users ordered chicken—in the form of a sandwich, nuggets or strips, wings or on the bone—as their main meal item, according to a 21-quarter average. Quick-Track, a quarterly study by San Clemente, Calif.-based research firm Sandelman & Associates, finds that of those who bought chicken on their last visit, 46.5 percent had a chicken sandwich; 29.2 percent, nuggets or strips; 19.4 percent, bone-in, fried or nonfried; and 7.9 percent, wings.

• National chicken chains comprise 7.7 percent of all past-month purchase occasions, a 21-quarter average shows. They receive 7.2 percent of lunch occasions, 9.7 percent of dinner occasions and 5.7 percent of snack occasions.
• But of those who ordered chicken on their most recent purchase occasion, 47.2 percent did so at lunch and 46.8 percent at dinner. Of all users' last occasions, 39.5 percent were at lunch and 49.3 percent were at dinner.
• A 21-quarter average shows that 43.6 percent of QSR customers who ordered chicken on their most recent occasion ordered french fries, and 10.5 percent had mashed potatoes. Only 24.4 percent had no sides. Of all users, 29.1 percent had fries on their last occasion, 2.6 percent had mashed potatoes, and 42.8 percent didn't order any sides with their main item.
• 82.3 percent of those having chicken on their last occasion had a beverage; 78.0 percent of all users did.
• Fourth-quarter 2007 data show 56.7 percent of chicken-chain users are male, while 49.5 percent of all QSR users are.
• 38.2 percent of chicken-chain users are 45 to 64 years old; 33.9 percent of all users fit in that age group.
• While 8.2 percent of fast-food users are Hispanic, 10.0 percent of chicken-chain users are, according to fourth-quarter 2007 data. The percentage of black chicken-chain users matches that of the all-user set (8.1 percent vs. 8.0 percent).