McDonald’s is diving into the ongoing “value wars” with its new McValue menu as it looks to boost sales and lure inflation-weary consumers.
Starting Tuesday, McDonald’s customers have the option to choose from the “Buy One, Add One for $1,” deal, along with the popular $5 meal deal. There are also app-exclusive offers, including free fries with a $1 purchase every Friday in 2025 and a free McCripsy chicken sandwich for new app users. In addition, local franchisees – who own roughly 95% of U.S. locations – are offering their own community-focused deals.
The fast food giant enlisted wrestler-actor John Cena to promote the McValue menu in an apparent effort to draw in younger consumers.
McDonald’s promotional efforts extend beyond the new menu. The chain is offering over $3 million in cross-promotional deals across 16 brands, including free YouTube TV (GOOGL-0.62%), Wi-Fi upgrades with American Airlines (AAL+0.83%), and a Tinder (MTCH-1.74%) subscription. Customers, however, will need to interact with McValue ads to earn free credits. This effort could be one way McDonald’s hopes to position itself as a broader, lifestyle-driven brand.
It remains to be seen whether consumers will bite. As inflation continues to push grocery prices higher, fast food chains are under pressure to offer more affordable options. The “value wars” have sparked a race to capture budget-conscious customers. Rivals like Subway, Starbucks and Taco Bell are expanding their own value-driven deals.
For McDonald’s, the McValue menu comes at a critical time. The chain has struggled with declining sales, exacerbated by a 2024 E. Coli outbreak linked to its slivered onions, which left hundreds of customers sick. Despite a $100 million pledge to support franchisees and ramp up marketing, those efforts have yet to show significant results. McDonald’s $5 meal deal had initially boosted foot traffic, but customer visits plummeted by over 30% following the outbreak, according to analytics firm Placer.ai.
The McValue menu rollout also comes on the heels of McDonald’s decision to scale back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. As part of the reduction, the company said it would no longer require suppliers to meet DEI targets and would stop participating in external diversity surveys.
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