McDonald’s has launched a $5 menu in the United States, which should include a McChicken or McDouble sandwich, chicken nuggets, fries and a drink. The company said it did so to combat inflation, which is contributing to slowing consumption in fast food restaurants in Italy too.
Supply and inflation data in the USA
Speaking in the quarterly data presentation call, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski announced that the initiative aims “at accessibility” and is aimed “at attracting customers”. According to the company’s analyzes in the last period more and more people have decided to consume food at home rather than at McDonald’s, the promotion on the one hand tries to recover this segment of customers, who would have a menu for 5 dollars which today reaches 18. However, the price is not definitive, the company will have to agree it with the managers of the McDonald’s chains, who already carry out their promotional offers on a local basis. However, the decision also comes largely due to inflation, which continues to rise in the USA. The index measuring personal consumption expenditure (PCE) increased by 3.4% at the end of April, while core inflation rose by 3.7%. Meanwhile, US GDP grew by 1.6% in the first quarter while expected growth was 2.4%.
«Prices doubled in ten years»: the analysis by Finance buzz
In this context, observers had predicted that to cope with the decline in consumption, the fast food giants would have to invent very competitive promotions. According to an analysis of the site Finance buzzwhich conducts independent studies on consumption and financial trends, over the last ten years the average prices of fast food restaurant menus have increased by between 39% and 100%. The record belongs to McDonald’s, which doubled them compared to 2014 with average increases of 100% even on the most popular products, such as chips, McDouble sandwich and some menus.
