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posted by martyb on Wednesday October 25 2017, @08:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the cheap-eats dept.

McDonald's is changing up its dollar menus:

The world's largest restaurant chain, facing heavy competition in the U.S., will launch a new value-priced menu nationally next year. The lineup will offer items for $1, $2 and $3, the company said on Tuesday.

[...] But McDonald's is adding the new menu from a position of strength. It has seen U.S. restaurant traffic grow for two consecutive quarters, following years of declines. With the new value lineup, the company is trying to lock in those gains, said Michael Halen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

All-day breakfast, "premium" burger options, McCafes, dollar soft drinks, 2-for-$5 deals, and UberEATS delivery seem to have kept McDonald's strong amid changing consumer attitudes about fast food:

Aggressive U.S. promotions included $1 any-size soft drinks, $2 McCafe smoothies and espresso drinks and McPick 2 offers of two items for $5. The changes, part of a turnaround plan under CEO Easterbrook, came as McDonald's catches up with Chipotle, Wendy's Co and other chains that raised the bar for what consumers can expect from quick-serve restaurants.

McDonald's shares have climbed 65 percent since Easterbrook was named CEO in March 2015, well ahead of Wendy's 37 percent gain and nearly triple the S&P 500's rise over the same period.

Also at NYT.

Previously: All-Day Breakfast Boosts McDonald's Profits
America Gets Even Fatter From 2015-2016


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by progo on Wednesday October 25 2017, @02:41PM (5 children)

    by progo (6356) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @02:41PM (#587388) Homepage

    Some of the national fast food chains have been using animated menus where one or all panels of the menu feature a set of items that DISAPPEARS periodically to show some other items or a house ad. A few years ago Burger King would even take the entire menu away to show a single video across all the menu displays, every 90 seconds or so. Dunkin Donuts quit doing this shit some time in 2017. McDonalds is still doing it, last time I checked.

    On principle, I will usually just walk out of a place if I see a menu behaving like that. I can't tolerate being interrupted when I'm reading a menu, by the menu itself. I've asked all these places for paper menus and they don't have them.

    For some reason, local fast food restaurants and chains in New York City where I live, who use big computer displays for menus, don't do anything stupid like this with them. I wonder how many people who are as irritated as I am contributed to McDonalds' "decline".

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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:14PM (2 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:14PM (#587400) Journal

    In NYC animated menus are not needed to drive customers away from McDonald's. The poor quality of their food and skyrocketing prices, and the plethora of cheaper, better alternatives are enough. There are food trucks that are doing really interesting fusion menus. There are old-style food carts that don't pretty anything up, just great food at low prices, fast. There are burger restaurant alternatives like Shake Shack or Five Guys or Bare Burger.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday October 25 2017, @04:11PM (1 child)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @04:11PM (#587433) Journal

      I miss the halal street carts from NYC soooo much. They're not that much pricier than a decent size McD meal and you get way more, way cleaner, way healthier food if you're careful.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:56PM

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:56PM (#587470) Journal

        Haha all we have to do to bribe my brother-in-law in Long Island to watch our kids for date night is bring him a gyro or falafel platter from those carts. $5. A Big Mac meal costs what now, $10?

        The food truck rallies in Grand Army Plaza are still fun, too. Kimchi Tacos. Not quite the Japanese/Mexican fusion East Side Kings do in Austin, but a reasonable facsimile.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:52PM

    by richtopia (3160) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:52PM (#587418) Homepage Journal

    I agree, although I believe the chains are getting the message for the most part. My frustration is that since I don't eat fast food often, when I do I want to try what is new. And guess what gets animated: the latest promotions. But in general the menus are terrible; there are so many options and they are so disorganized that something like a hamburger could occur in multiple places.

  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday October 25 2017, @08:37PM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @08:37PM (#587549)

    With all the surveillance that cameras on displays can do, couldn't they tell if you're reading the screen and not switch the ad until you move your eyes away?