McDonald's is losing ground to rivals like Burger King with a key customer group
McDonald's is experiencing a decline in sales among low-income diners, marking the first such quarterly drop in a year. While the chain struggles with the execution of its value menu, competitors like Burger King have managed to capture some of that market share.
Why it matters
This shift highlights the impact of inflation on consumer behavior and the challenges fast-food chains face in maintaining affordability in a K-shaped economy.
Low-income diners are spending less at McDonald's, Numerator found. Mario Tama/Getty Images McDonald's is losing sales among low-income diners, new data shows. Numerator found that sales among low-income customers slipped 2.4% duing the chain's latest quarter. McDonald's has said that the execution of its latest value menu hampered second-quarter sales. McDonald's is losing ground to rivals among low-income fast-food diners, according to recent data. Spending by low-income guests at the Golden Arches declined 2.4% year-over-year during the company's latest quarter, said consumer analytics company Numerator. The firm defines "low-income guests" as those from households making $40,000 or less a year. The drop is McDonald's first quarterly decline with low-income guests in the past year and amounts to roughly $310 million in lost sales, Numerator said on Tuesday. Rival fast-food chain Burger King, meanwhile, notched a 0.3% gain over the same period.
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