McDonald’s has announced a push on promotions after its quarterly global like-for-like sales dropped 1% for the first time post-pandemic.
The fast food giant said it would invest in its value offer to respond to a decline in customer traffic and win back “savvy customers”.
That includes continuing initiatives such as its $5 meal in the US and its three items for £3 campaign in the UK, as well as improving Happy Meal options across international markets.
CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors the latest results forced the chain to have a “comprehensive rethink” of its prices.
“Consumers are being more discerning about where, when and what they eat,” he added, “so we’re focused on a review of our value and affordability in those key markets.”
McDonald’s attracted criticism for raising prices throughout the pandemic, prompting chief of US operations Joe Erlinger to reply in an open letter that the average cost of producing a Big Mac meal had risen 21% since 2019.
Additional external factors across its global markets have also had an impact on the latest results.
While demand fell at its US restaurants due to price hikes, slow uptake in France, the war in the Middle East and a “weak consumer sentiment” in China also contributed to the international sales drop.
“We’ve got some exciting promotions coming up in the second half of the year. And we think that if we can get the traffic moving, we’ll see customers willing to spend more,” added Kempczinski.
“The customer who’s coming in for the $5 meal deal is going to end up buying more than just the $5 meal deal […] so we feel strongly about how the deal is attracting specifically that low-end consumer, which is our opportunity.”
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