McDonald's (DCM) is determined to attract customers back to its stores after suffering from declining sales all year.
Most recently, the fast-food chain faced a 3% year-over-year drop in its U.S. net revenue during the third quarter of 2024, while its nationwide comparable sales fell 0.3%.
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Many consumers have been avoiding McDonald's for various reasons; high menu prices, a boycott over alleged political connections in the Gaza war, a recent disturbing E. coli outbreak at several of its restaurants and the growing trend of consumers opting to cook at home instead of buying food fast.
Related: McDonald's hopes to win back customers with generous offer
As some of these trends continue to hurt the company's pockets, McDonald's has implemented several changes to its menu over the past few months in an effort to boost its sales. Some of these updates include a $5 meal deal, the return of the McRib, and a new McValue menu that goes into effect on January 7, 2025.
McDonald's makes big move, but customers raise concerns
In McDonald's latest effort to win back customers, its U.S. president, Joe Erlinger, recently revealed in an interview on “Good Morning America” that the fast-food chain will soon put its Snack Wrap back on menus after discontinue it in 2016.
The Snack Wrap is basically chicken tenders, lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing wrapped in a soft flour tortilla.
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“Snack Wrap will be back in 2025,” Erlinger said. “It has a cult following, I get tons of emails in my inbox about this product.”
Although Erlinger did not specify when the Snack Wrap will return to menus in 2025 or how much it will cost, many consumers were not very excited about the news.
Consumers took to the comments section on Good Morning America's TikTok. video of the interview expressing concern and frustration over McDonald's recent prices.
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“Are you almost doubling the price as usual?” said one TikTok user.
“Bring back the REAL dollar menu!” wrote another.
“Too bad we won't be able to afford snack packaging in 2025…” said another TikTok user.
Not surprisingly, consumers are upset with McDonald's recent menu prices. Over the past year, consumers have been pointing out skyrocketing prices at McDonald's locations across the country.
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According to McDonald's, the average price of a menu item at its fast food chains has increase by about 40% from 2019. During an earnings call in July, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski blamed inflation for the significant price increases.
“In recent years, our system has suffered significant inflationary cost increases ranging from 20% to 40% depending on the market,” Kempczinski said during the call. “As we absorb these cost increases in partnership with our franchisees, we are looking for ways to protect restaurant profitability through productivity efforts and targeted price increases. These price increases disrupted long-standing value programs and led consumers to reconsider their purchasing habits.”
McDonald's faces tough road ahead due to growing trend
It will be difficult to say whether McDonald's latest efforts to win back customers will yield significant positive results. According to a recent survey According to Ipsos Consumer Tracker, about a third of Americans said they have reduced their spending on fast food, restaurants and food delivery since the beginning of this year to save money.
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Additionally, about 45% of respondents said they were cooking dinner at home more and 38% said they were increasingly preparing their own lunch.
“2024 will be known in part for price and value wars in both QSR (quick service restaurants) and supermarkets, as these sectors fight for value-seeking customers,” said Ipsos executive vice president Wendy Wallner.
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