McDonald’s is chasing the bargain eater

In its latest attempt to woo back inflation-weary consumers McDonald s is offering yet another meal deal On Monday Sept the fast-food giant reintroduced its Extra Value Meals a discount menu offering that McDonald s first launched in and subsequently eliminated in The incentive includes an Big Mac Combo Meal with medium fries and a medium soft drink a Sausage McMuffin with Egg Meal with hash browns and a small coffee along with other meal options Per McDonald s the combination meal deals will save customers as much as compared to buying each item individually CNN informed Meal prices will vary depending on location Other noteworthy items include the Ranch Snack Wrap a returning fan-favorite which is now in a full meal alongside medium fries and a medium Sprite There s also the brand-new Spicy Snack Wrap Meal and Ranch Spicy Snack Wrap Meal which combine both wraps with fries and a Sprite The Snack Wrap will be available for through the end of the year McDonald s Extra Value Meals is expected to last until the end of the year The chain is slated to roll out additional discounts in November including Sausage Egg and Cheese McGriddles and -piece Chicken McNuggets meals according to USA IN THE CURRENT ERA McDonald s USA is laser-focused on delivering value and affordability for our customers and I m incredibly proud of how our franchisees and teams continue to step up to make it a reality McDonald s USA president Joe Erlinger noted in a modern news release From the Meal Deal to McValue and now Extra Value Meals we re sending a clear message we re here for our customers McDonald s will inevitably be a place where you can get the food you love at a price that fits your life Related To kick off fast-food chains revamp menus to court cost-conscious consumers The fresh meal deal comes more than a year after McDonald s began luring back an increasing number of financially-conscious customers plagued by the high cost of food especially fast food A LendingTree survey of more than adults between the ages of and determined that a majority of Americans no longer consider fast food an affordable meal option In fact percent of consumers at the time considered fast food to be a luxury per the survey Additionally percent of lower-income Americans who make less than a year and percent of parents with young children described fast food as a luxury because they re struggling financially Last summer McDonald s launched a value meal In January the chain expanded that deal with a new Buy One Add One for option that includes breakfast McDonald s also revamped its marketing campaign with a special cameo from John Cena who is allegedly a lifelong fan of the chain Want more great food writing and recipes Sign up for Salon s free food newsletter The Bite Amid an ongoing value meal wars which McDonald s has been embroiled in with fellow industry competitors Wendy s and Burger King the chain faced legal troubles and a decline in both restaurant sales and traffic following an E coli outbreak linked to slivered onions served in its Quarter Pounder However McDonald s has managed to bounce back with sales doing better in new months In the wake of its A Minecraft Movie meal deal which marked the chain s largest marketing campaign ever CNN broadcasted in August and new chicken strips sales at McDonald s US locations open at least a year increased from April to June The boost comes after two consecutive quarters of declining sales In an earnings call on Aug McDonald s CEO Chris Kempczinski reported restaurant visits from low-income consumers once again declined by double digits versus the prior-year period Re-engaging the low-income consumer is critical as they typically visit our restaurants more frequently than middle- and high-income consumers he added Indeed McDonald s has made it its mission to do exactly that with its Extra Value Meals and future menu deals Read more about McDonald s McDonald s Snack Wrap is back CosMc s and Live M s Caf Are small-format beverage spinoffs the future of fast food How McDonald s became an unlikely icon in American politics The post McDonald s is chasing the bargain eater appeared first on Salon com