© REUTERS/Hilary Russ
Signs advertising a box of fried chicken for $16.99 and a sandwich are seen at a Popeyes restaurant in New York City, New York, U.S. May 26, 2021.
Restaurant chains including McDonald's Corp
(MCD.N) and KFC
(YUM.N) are paring back $5-and-under "value" items in favor of more expensive $10-to-$30 combination meals, a strategy employed to lift sales and profits and offset rising food costs as the U.S. economy reopens.
"Value" meals - sandwich, soda and French fry combinations priced at $5 or less — have long been a staple of fast-food offerings. Chains used the deals to lure bargain-conscious customers, bringing traffic to stores. But deals priced at $5 and under have become less generous in the last 18 months.
During the pandemic, fast-food gained market share from other restaurants forced to close as customers motored through socially distant drive-throughs to pick up a sack of burgers. Now that the United States is reopening, those chains are selling new, pricier sandwiches and meals to customers - a move that some warn may alienate some hourly workers and other lower-income customers as government subsidies wane and mom-and-pop restaurants reopen.
Comment: Pretty soon you won't be able to speak at all. Talking will be forbidden as there's no guarantee that someone won't be offended by the sound of your voice