McDonald's will serve up a McValue offering in 2025. Here's what it includes.
McDonald's is planning to offer consumers savings in the form of "McValue" deals in 2025, the fast-food giant announced Friday.
It's part of an effort to keep consumers chomping on burgers as some Americans lose their taste for fast-food amid rising prices even at what are usually reliably cheap dining alternatives.
The McValue platform will be available in restaurants nationwide beginning Jan. 7, the company said. It will include McDonald's $5 meal deal, which the company launched in June. That offering includes either a McDouble burger of McChicken sandwich, four chicken McNuggets, a small order of fries and a small soft drink.
In addition, the new McValue platform will introduce exclusive offers through its mobile app, and local food and drink deals. A new buy one, add one for $1 is also part of the offering. It applies to popular breakfast, lunch and dinner items like breakfast sandwiches, nuggets and burgers. When costumers buy one full-priced item from the McValue menu, they may add an additional item for just $1.
"When it comes to value, we know there's no one-size-fits-all. We've worked closely with our franchisees to create a new platform that will let our customers define value on their own terms," Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald's USA said in a statement. "From deals on their personal go-to order to universal favorites like the $5 Meal Deal, we're excited to give fans more ways to save every time they visit one of our restaurants."
McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski acknowledged on the company's third-quarter earnings call last month that the restaurant's "value leadership gap has shrunk" and that it has been focused on improving its value offerings. Company executives at the time pointed to plans to introduce the McValue platform in early 2025.
While the company hopes the promotional deal will help boost its revenue, not everyone seems to think it's likely to be a recipe for success.
Restaurant expert Kevin Hart, chief sales officer for food and fuel app Upside, said the McValue menu strategy is risky.
"Value menus can drive traffic, but they often fail to create sustainable growth," he told CBS MoneyWatch. "Continuing to cannibalize existing customers by getting them to pay five dollars for what used to cost $12 is a failing strategy — the answer to foot traffic can't be to lose money on every sale."