https://seekingalpha.com/article/4119246-the-big-mac-index-m...
You can eat at home. This seems more like a sign of the loss of purchasing power among the working poor.
Sure they did, but they just ate out more frequently before.
> Inflation his everybody, not just them or their competitors.
The primary mechanism is their customers' loss of disposable/discretionary income.
To add to that, due to class reasons, people who previously ate out at higher end fast food are not going to downshift to McDonalds because of class and perceived low quality at McDonalds.
They will probably eat at home more, which allows them to stay in their current class association.
Oftentimes, that's not true for lunch. I thought that was a huge part of McDonald's business: people grabbing a quick and cheap bite to eat for lunch. Followed by soccer moms grabbing a quick dinner or snack for the kids via the drive-thru on the way to practice. Yes, I know you can get better food for just a little bit more, but it's still more money and oftentimes a drive-thru isn't available.
Or maybe these core customers are still going to McDonald's but it's the folks outside of these groups that have fallen off? If you don't need the drive-thru and you have a little more money to spend then you have a lot of options.
Packing leftovers or a sandwich is a thing. It's not convenient, or perhaps as tasty. Might be healthier though.
What is more convenient than placing some delicious tuna or egg and a bit of heese between two slices of bread? Surely not driving to McDonalds.
There might not be a need, but it's undeniable that they are doing it.
Inflation should impact most fast foods or restaurant in a relative same way.
But McDo used to be the cheapest option to eat, now it is often more expensive than going to a lot of other places or chains.
Now it's go out and pay $15 per person at McDonald's for crappy, inconsistent food that doesn't even taste that good anymore and eat it in a dirty McDonald's location with crazy homeless people making a scene not 10 feet away from you. Or you pay $17-18 per person to go get a big, juicy, well-made burger from a proper bar and grill with clean seating and family atmosphere. It just makes absolutely no sense to go to McDonald's unless you're on a road trip at weird hours of the night where nothing else within miles of you is open. Taco Bell, KFC and others have had similar problems for us.
We've gone from eating fast food two or three times a month to eating it maybe once or twice a year after the pandemic.
Right now when I open the app:
- One of the 'app exclusive deals' is 35% off an order over $12
- A Big Mac meal (burger, fries, drink) is $12.97 before that discount
- A double cheeseburger (no fries or drink) is $3.99
And is the meal before/after tax? I distinctly remember last time I was there a few months ago being shocked that the price came out to about $15 per person all getting meals.
This is from January this year: “McDonald's has missed a key sales target, partly due to customers boycotting the firm for its perceived support of Israel. The fast food chain reported its first quarterly sales miss in nearly four years due to weak growth in its international business division.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68209085
These global corporations probably arrogantly ignored the impact of young people especially ceasing and boycotting any future support. Sure maybe this isn’t you and your friends, but whole families and friendship groups across most counties have hard stopped visiting McDonalds regardless of the time of day or the latest burger specials. FAFO.
It may not be obvious to those inside the US, but the rest of the world aren’t feeling any motivation to get behind all American brands right now.
Then by the early 90s, they began to hollow it all out where you could keep a cheeseburger on a shelf for months and it wouldn't look much different. Then they started removing the amount of actual beef used. And most of the chicken is just like a paste that they form into nuggets or patties.
By 2000s, it was so cheap for them to produce "burgers" that they were able to have sales where you could get a regular cheeseburger for like 30 cents. The dollar menu all looked like it did a decade earlier, it's just that all of these ingredients were replaced to save on cost.
By 2005 or so, the cost began increasing and far outpaced any gain in income.
This happened for a while where today they want to sell you a combo meal for something like $15 in some places, and most of that food is basically just look like food and not even the real thing, despite being priced against places that just take bread, beef and cheese and cook it like you're supposed to.
The whole thing is a scam and McDonald's is a terrible company.
Maybe have the President work the fryer again and see if it boosts sales?
Yes, the paste is made of less desirable parts of a chicken with more connective tissue. But that doesn't make it not chicken. People eat beef tendon too.
duxup•9mo ago
Anecdote time:
I'm not a fan of McDonald's food, but one thing I once could count on from McDonald's was pretty much the same quality store to store. And as far as fast food went the employees seemed happy an motivated (as much as they can at a fast food place and noticeably more than other fast food places). That's not the case anymore.
Quality store to store and even the same store at different times now varies wildly in my experience and near me there are several "bad stores" where it's pretty clear nobody (employees) is happy and straight up not trying.
Not passing judgment on employees here (it's up to the company to do their thing to keep quality up), but either way McDnonald's to me just isn't reliable.
_mlbt•9mo ago
forinti•9mo ago
I occasionally stop at one for a coffee, and most times something goes wrong with my order. It's fascinating how such a crappy firm can still survive.
linguae•9mo ago
I also notice a big difference whenever I travel to Japan and visit McDonald's locations there. The food tastes better and the presentation is excellent. It also helps that McDonald's is cheaper in Japan than in California.