Cash App Is Tracking What We’re Eating Through the Emojis We Use

Anyone who uses their phone to digitally pay their friends back knows the emoji shorthand: A pizza to pay for dinner. A coffee cup to cover a latte. Or a martini for those post-work cocktails.

Turns out those payment messages aren’t just between friends. They’re actually being tracked to figure out dining trends, consumer behavior, and of-the-moment cultural phenomena. And one of the places doing it is Cash App. This month, the popular digital wallet service compiled its first-ever “That’s Money” peer-to-peer trend report for 2024, measuring each of the emojis and expressions we use when we pay each other.  

In today’s digital economy, “each transaction tells a story about how Americans speak, spend and feel — offering a unique view of the cultural Zeitgeist,” the Cash App report says.

The survey is divided by generations, which helps show how references and concerns differ between Gen Z (ages 18–29), Millennials (ages 30–44), Gen X (ages 45–59), and Boomers (ages 60 and older). Although this is the inaugural report, the 11-year-old app has been tracking the info internally since at least 2019, covering everything from mentions of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter to the WNBA and pickleball — with a big section of the report devoted to food and drink.

Here’s what the report found in terms of dining patterns:

Small joys

According to Cash App, we’re all giving in to everyday indulgences. The phrase “sweet little treat” rose by 500% in the past year, while similar phrases like “sweet treat” and “little treat” jumped 349% and 170%, respectively. Last year, the phrase “girl dinner” was practically non-existent. This year, it was up 8,000%, Cash App said.

Beverage preferences

Mentions of “matcha” and “coffee” each rose 28% during the past year. In that time, “espresso martini” showed an 89% rise in mentions, led by Gen Z app users, who outpaced millennials in seeing caffeinated cocktails. On the calmer side, “mocktail” mentions have risen 500% over the past four years, with Gen Z leading the sober curious pack.

Food tops the list

Cash App looks at the 15 most common quick descriptors that people use in its notes section. “Food” outranked all other payment descriptions at No. 1, followed by “gas,” “love,” “thanks,” and “happy.” Perhaps those things are subsets of food (except for gas, you’d hope)? Farther down in the mentions list is “lunch” at number 11. “Breakfast” and “dinner” didn’t rank among the top 15.

Regional communication styles

As the most populous states, New York and California led the way in using emojis to communicate. But it’s clear who has food and drink on the brain. California’s top two emoji: tacos and beer. New York’s: crying and a taxicab.