McDonald’s $5 value meals lure back inflation-battered customers as Starbuck’s, Chili’s also see boost: survey

Fast-food and casual dining chains have been serving up affordable meal deals this year in an effort to win back inflation-battered shoppers – and fresh data shows it’s working. 

Restaurants including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Chili’s and Buffalo Wild Wings saw improved foot traffic after their introduction of meal deals and limited-time discounts, according to a new survey.

McDonald’s launched its highly anticipated $5 Meal Deal in June, which includes a McDouble or McChicken, a four-piece nugget, a small fry and a small fountain beverage – going head-to-head with value meals from rivals Wendy’s and Burger King.

The largest fast food chain in the world launched the limited-time deal on June 25, which was then McDonald’s busiest Tuesday of the year – raking in 8% more visits than the year-to-date Tuesday average, according to analytics company Placer.ai.

Throughout the rest of launch week, visits averaged at least 5% more than the daily year-to-date averages, according to data.

The fast-food giant also debuted Free Fries Friday – a free medium fry with $1 minimum purchase for app users. The deal lasts through the end of the year.

Coffee giant Starbucks, meanwhile, saw success with its limited-time deal offering half-off iced drinks on Fridays in May.

Starbucks visits on May 3 – the Friday before the deal launch – landed 1.1% below the year-to-date Friday average, according to Placer.ai.

When the half-off deal began on May 10, visits spiked 20% above the year-to-date average, according to data. 

Chili’s Grill & Bar revamped its “3 for Me” value menu in April, adding new choices – including the Big Smasher burger – to the menu. 

The value meal includes an appetizer, entree and beverage of choice starting at $10.99.

Like other restaurants, the value meal boosted foot traffic to Chili’s.

The week before the value menu update, Chili’s visits were up 4.7% compared to 2023, according to Placer.ai. During the week of the update, visits soared 17.3% over the 2023 average, according to data.

Buffalo Wild Wings began offering unlimited boneless wings on Mondays and Wednesdays for $19.99.

The Georgia-based sports bar franchise introduced the deal on May 13. It was originally expected to run through July 10, but the deal is still being promoted on the Buffalo Wild Wings website.

Foot traffic to the restaurant jumped 8% immediately after the deal launch, according to Placer.ai. Monday and Wednesday visits in particular spiked, by 45.6% and 49.3% respectively, according to data. 

Monday and Wednesday visits stayed above average in the seven-week period after the unlimited deal launch, according to data.

Buffalo Wild Wings – owned by Inspire Brands under the same umbrella as Arby’s, Sonic Drive-In and Dunkin’ Donuts – has catered to customers with a slew of deals this year, including $5 beers on National Beer Day.

The boost in traffic comes as the restaurant industry has struggled this year. with same-store sales at their lowest since 2016, excluding pandemic-battered 2020, according to restaurant analyst Mark Kalinowski.

“These ‘meal deals’ seems to be helping a little, but generally speaking, not a lot,” he told The Post on Wednesday.

“Consumers have become more select in their spending, including their restaurant spending. While a small handful of certain concepts may be outliers in terms of their specific sales trends for most restaurant chains 2024 will not be a great year.”

Though inflation is now easing – hovering around 2.6% – customers have been hit hard by long-lasting inflation that led to price hikes and a pullback on non-necessity spending. 

Grocery and fast-food prices in the US have risen sharply since the pandemic. 

Food prices spiked 25% from 2019 to 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. 

And the average price of a McDonald’s Big Mac in the US is $5.29 – up 21% since 2019, McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger said in May.

To combat the effects of inflation, restaurants have been introducing affordable meal deals to draw in cash-strapped customers.