McDonald's Slashing Drink Prices
Fast-food giant McDonald's plans to offer big discounts on its sodas and coffee, aiming to meet the declining customer visits, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The company is likely to offer $1 sodas of any size for a limited time starting in April across the U.S. Further, small McCafe specialty drinks, which normally range from $2.69 and $4, will be sold for $2 for a limited time.
The move to promote higher-margin beverages comes after McDonald's sales in the fourth quarter dropped 1.3 percent at established U.S. location. Customer visits declined for the fourth straight year in 2016, even after McDonald's' last year promotions, including all-day breakfast menu.
Bloomberg reported, citing data from researcher IBISWorld, that after a 2.4 percent growth last year, McDonald's' revenue gains are slated to slow to 1.5% this year and 1.6% in 2018.
The weaker customer visits reflects that with cheaper grocery prices, more and more Americans opt to eat at home instead of dining out.
In the past year, the world's biggest food-service company had focused its advertising on cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches. Since CEO Steve Easterbrook started at McDonald's around two years ago, the company has been revamping its menu and marketing. Along with the all-day breakfast menu, the company had also introduced two-for-$2 and two-for-$5 deals. (dpa)
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