McDonald’s Lengthens the Meal Deal Wars

Maybe it’s the intrinsic value to the bottom line. 

McDonald’s announced on Thursday that its $5 summer meal deal, which was only supposed to last through June, will now be extended into December. McDonald’s may have kick-started the meal deal fast-food wars this summer, but new combatants are still joining the fray, and McDonald’s isn’t ready to tap out yet.

Wheeling, Dealing, and Mealing

McDonald’s brought in the $5 meal deal just a month before it revealed in its Q2 filings that sales had dropped for the first time since 2020. Consumers were finally reaching the end of their rope on price increases; prolonging the meal deal’s lifespan suggests that McDonald’s seems to think it has a long way to go before consumers feel much better about prices, even if we are headed for a long-prophesied rate cut.

McDonald’s wasn’t the only fast-food chain to bring in a budget-friendly deal over the summer, and it’s not the only one to drag out the war, although it has upped the stakes by pushing back the armistice date:

• Last month, Burger King announced it would extend its own $5 meal deal through October. 
• Some chains are still clambering onto the bandwagon. Last week, Dunkin’ Donuts announced a fall menu that includes a $6 meal deal. 

Venti Dreams: Starbucks is going to need a lot more than a meal deal to turn its fortunes around — at least, according to its new chief executive. CEO Brian Niccol came to Starbucks from Chipotle, which has placed among the 20 best-performing stocks on the S&P 500 this year, so investor hopes are high. In his first missive to staff, Niccol said the chain needs to focus on reattaining a convivial atmosphere so customers will want to hang out rather than just buy a massively convoluted drink and run.