McDonald's extends $5 deal through December to keep customers coming
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
Posted 9/12/24
McDonald’s is extending its $5 value meal until December at most U.S. stores, and the company's rivals are likely to follow. McDonald’s introduced the deal in June after a disappointing first …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
McDonald's extends $5 deal through December to keep customers coming
FILE - A sign is shown in front of an McDonald's restaurant in Pittsburgh on April 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Posted
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
McDonald’s is extending its $5 value meal until December at most U.S. stores, a move that rivals are likely to follow.
McDonald’s introduced the deal in June after a disappointing first quarter that saw fewer U.S. visits and lower spending per order, particularly from customers earning less than $45,000 per year. The $5 Meal Deal includes a McDouble burger or McChicken sandwich, small fries, a four-piece Chicken McNuggets and a small drink.
“Together with our franchisees, we’re committed to keeping our prices as affordable as possible,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said Thursday.
As grocery price inflation has slowed, more people are choosing to eat at home. U.S. restaurant sales were up slightly in July, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But that was largely because of higher menu prices. Adjusted for inflation, restaurant sales fell 0.7% from July 2023, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Rivals like Burger King quickly followed McDonald's with their own $5 meal deals. Burger King recently extended its deal through October.
Wendy’s, which already offered a $5 meal deal, started throwing in a free Frosty in June. Now, it's offering a $5 meal deal targeted at college football fans, with no delivery fees every Saturday this fall.
The deals are lifting store traffic. Placer.ai, which uses cell phone data to monitor retail traffic, said U.S. visits to McDonald’s rose 2.4% in June after the $5 meal deal was introduced and have remained elevated ever since.
Placer.ai said Taco Bell saw a 12.3% increase in visits the week of July 29 when it offered free drinks to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Baja Blast.
Fast-food restaurants aren't the only ones offering deals to get customers in the door. Olive Garden recently announced that its Never-Ending Pasta Bowl special — which includes soup or salad, breadsticks and pasta for $13.99 — will run through Nov. 17.
McDonald’s said it will also offer other deals this fall, including free medium fries every Friday with a $1 minimum purchase and $1 10-piece Chicken McNuggets between Nov. 4 and Dec. 2.