Goodbye, McDonald’s – needs to win back customers and launches a very tempting offer on new products to attract more sales

McDonald’s is determined to regain its place in the hearts (and stomachs) of its customers. After a difficult year with declining sales and criticism over high prices, the chain has decided to shake up its menu with offerings designed to appeal to even the coldest of people. Between price adjustments and new combinations, McDonald’s seems to be saying, “We know life is expensive, but everyone deserves a good McNugget.” Let’s face it: Who can resist a McDonald’s meal when the price is cheap? This move promises to restore McDonald’s to its former glory while simultaneously helping our wallets breathe a sigh of relief.

Inflation and fast food on the verge of luxury?

It seems that not only our wallets are noticing the growing inflation in our country, but that there are more and more consumers who see the prices of fast food restaurants as disproportionate, some almost unaffordable, even as more and more people decide choose to dine at home and avoid these places.

According to LeendingTree, they released a survey in which an estimated 78% of consumers believe that fast food is a luxury (yes, $15 per meal isn’t particularly cheap, let’s say…). 62% of respondents said they stopped visiting these types of restaurants due to high prices, and 56% said they preferred to eat at home to save money. It is estimated that fast food prices have increased by 7.5%. since 2022.

McDonald’s in crisis?

Given these numbers and the fact that thousands upon thousands of consumers prefer to stay at home and eat a BicMac, McDonald’s suffered a decline in sales and income in the current year, so it took a while for the company to recover.

In the third quarter of 2024, McDonald’s announced that its sales in the United States had increased by just 0.3% and its net profit had fallen by 3%, crazy numbers for one of the largest multinational corporations in the world.

And if that wasn’t enough, they also had to deal with an E.Coli outbreak that left 34 of 100 affected people in the hospital. So no, this year certainly wasn’t the year of McDonald’s.

A new strategy on the horizon

That’s right, McDonald’s can’t keep quiet in the face of these sad numbers and has therefore decided to develop a new strategy to attract their “disgruntled” customers back to their restaurants.

It will be called “Mc Value” and will come into effect on January 7th.

What is McValue?

This is a type of offer that they offer. For example, for $5 you can buy a McChicken, four Chicken McNuggets or a McDouble with fries and a drink. Another new addition to this offer is the “buy one, add for $1,” where customers can order a menu item at full price for McValue’s value and add another item for just $1, McDonald’s intends to to give consumers an incentive to continue eating in their restaurants. Who could resist a McDonald’s meal for just $5?!

Will it be enough for McDonald’s to shine like before? We don’t know, but we do know that McDonald’s President Joe Erlinger has been working hard with franchisees to find a solution that will attract the greatest number of people, and that means with McValue you don’t just have lunch or Dinner, but you can also buy breakfast and snacks.

About the price increase…

Since 2019, the price of hamburgers has increased by 40%. Does COVID-19 have anything to do with it? Well, probably, and also that we are living through a period of enormous inflation. Erlinger disputes that sandwich prices have risen so much and that the proposed data is incorrect.

However, the Roosevelt Institute has reported that McDonald’s cost of benefits for each hamburger has risen 85% above marginal cost.

Given this data, the burger giant had no choice but to offer its customers an affordable and consumer-appealing option.

Now it’s time to wait and see whether this measure is enough to win back the hearts of their customers with nuggets or whether they need to take new measures to attract other types of customers. Only time will tell, but in the meantime…let’s keep our stomachs full!