Get ready to be a dollar menunaire all over again!
After a four-year absence, the dollar menu is coming back to McDonald’s in 2018.
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Value is the name of the game in fast food and McDonald’s is set to return to its roots with a reboot of the beloved and iconic dollar menu.
McDonald’s USA President Chris Kempczinski confirmed the imminent return during an Oct. 24 analyst call.
But here’s one thing you should know: This dollar menu 2.0 that’s coming in 2018 will be a little bit different from the one you remember.
For starters, there will be a wider range of price segmentation.
“What you’re going to see from us next year is us being really fully competitive with our near-in competitors with a value program there,” Kempczinski noted as he unveiled one of the worst kept secrets in the quick-serve restaurant (QSR) segment.
“It’s been written about and I don’t think it’s any surprise that certainly our value program is going to be focused on $1, $2 and $3 price points.”
Kempczinski also said there will be periodic additional deals set to “pulse in and out throughout the year.”
A brief history of the McDonald’s dollar menu
McDonald’s has long had a love/hate relationship with the $1 price point.
The dollar menu first launched in 2002 and customers loved it — of course!
But that low price can sometimes put a real financial strain on franchisees.
As one analyst noted in 2013, a menu item sold for $1 during a time of severe food inflation could represent a 50% to 100% loss for a restaurant operator.
That harsh fiscal reality prompted the company to give the dollar menu the boot around 2014 and replace it with the McPick 2 for $5 food deal.
But you can’t keep a good buck down for long!
In early 2017, the Golden Arches dipped its toe back into the dollar pool with the introduction of its $1 any size soft drink promotion.
The push behind the beverage initiative helped increased foot traffic greatly.
According to the latest numbers, U.S. comp sales increased 4.1% during the last quarter. That represents a positive comp sales gap versus other QSR sandwich competitors like Burger King and Wendy’s, according to top company brass.
So if you’ve gone too long without tasting that dollar deliciousness at your local Mickey Ds, take heart.
You’ve got a big year ahead of you in 2018!
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