NEW YORK听鈥 McDonald鈥檚 is hoping a new value menu will win back customers who have been put off by its higher prices.
On Friday, the fast-food chain the 鈥淢cValue鈥 menu, a new, budget-friendly category that will roll out at U.S. restaurants on January 7. The popular , unveiled earlier this year, will be the centerpiece. The menu will also feature a new 鈥淏uy One, Add One for $1鈥 option that includes breakfast.
McDonald鈥檚 is trying to reignite growth after a . The value perception of the chain has dimmed among its cash-conscious customers because the average price of its menu items has soared over the past five years, in line with rising costs, according to the company.
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鈥淲hen it comes to value, we know there鈥檚 no one-size-fits-all. We鈥檝e worked closely with our franchisees to create a new platform that will let our customers define value on their own terms,鈥 Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald鈥檚 USA, said in a statement.
The chain had been making some progress before an E. coli outbreak in October caused sales and traffic to nosedive. McDonald鈥檚 announced last week that it鈥檚 into marketing and aid to franchises most heavily affected by the health scare.
Also on the McValue menu are more in-app offers, plus local food and drink deals organized by its franchisees.
The national rollout of McValue helps 鈥渆nhance the broader image of McDonald鈥檚 as a value-oriented brand,鈥 according to David Henkes, a senior principal at Technomic, a food industry research and consulting firm.
鈥淩estaurant traffic remains challenged, and this really represents a line of thinking that value will continue to be important to the consumer for the foreseeable future,鈥 he told CNN. 鈥淚nflation remains elevated, and creating a more structured, long-term value platform tells me that McDonald鈥檚 really sees opportunity in doubling down in its focus on budget-oriented consumers.鈥
The new menu category is McDonald鈥檚 largest value-minded effort since 2018, when it priced some .
But the dollar menu proved relatively unpopular compared to the far more successful $5 value meal, which rolled out this summer. Customers weren鈥檛 necessarily shopping for inexpensive food as much as more bang for their buck.
Ultimately, inflation has all but wiped out the items found at the lower end of that pricing tier. The McValue menu will replace what鈥檚 left of it.
It鈥檚 the latest development in Chipotle鈥檚 鈥渟kimpgate,鈥 which comes at a time when cash-strapped customers have an eagle eye on shrinkflation and skimpflation.聽