McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.
In a post on the company’s website Wednesday, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said reports suggesting the price of the average Big Mac has doubled since 2019 were false. McDonald’s said the average U.S. Big Mac was $4.39 in 2019 and now costs $5.29, a 20.5% increase.
Erlinger acknowledged that he and many franchisees were frustrated by a post on X last summer about a Big Mac meal in Connecticut that cost $18, calling the price “an exception.”
McDonald’s saw a marked slowdown in store traffic in the first three months of this year as inflation-weary customers in the U.S. and other big markets ate out less often.
“It’s clear that we — together with our franchisees — must remain laser-focused on value and affordability,” Erlinger said.
They’re trading out low-value customers for high-value customers. It’s Business 101. I’ve done it with my old PC repair gig.
For the same revenue, do you want a bunch of people paying low prices or a few people paying high prices?
In any case, I’m all for higher fast-food prices. Maybe this will drive a culture shift towards healthier, less fattening food.
Problem is the price of ingredients for cooking at home have gone up too, and with the value of labor for more workers falling in comparison, the cost of cooking at home is at best keeping pace.
High value customers don’t eat at Mcdonalds.
The problem with that logic is that McDonalds has not upped the value of their product. I didn’t take Business 101, but I’m pretty sure it’d be considered bad business to try and sell the same piece of shit you’ve always sold for a higher price than you typically sell for.