The poor and middle class can't afford McDonald's anymore.

[SunSeeker]

Last edited Thu May 1, 2025, 05:05 PM - Edit history (1)

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told investors that inflation and economic concerns were key factors behind the downturn as lower- and middle-income consumers cut back on fast food during the January-March period.  

Traffic from consumers earning $45,000 per year or less dropped by double digits, while traffic from middle-income consumers fell nearly as much.

Only those making $100,000 or more continued to dine out regularly, Kempczinski said.

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/mcdonalds-sales-fall/

[SheltieLover]

1. Friends of ours with income well over $150k said they quit eating out too

Quality is piss poor & prices are ridiculous!

They should try focusing on PLEASING consumers instead of screwing them. Remember those days?

[MissB]

14. I have to stop my hubs from complaining too much

We don't eat out that often (prices, choices) but we do have a few restaurants that we'd like to see remain open. Hubs gets kinda frustrated at the slow service, and I point out to him that it's been hard to get employees lately. Plus, being a jerk to the folks making/serving your food... no go for me. I chalk it up to his general grumpiness as he ages.

But even though we're relatively well off, we still are limiting our dining out. He still takes his mom out to lunch each week - she lives about an hour and a half away and is in the beginning stages of Alzheimers - and I'll never say boo to that. Time with her is precious. I can make dinners at home to offset any spending he does.

[SheltieLover]

16. Good for you supporting local restaurants!

We go to our fav Mex place about once per week.

Glad your hubby has this time with his mom.

[Warpy]

33. $150K doesn't go very far in a lot of cities these days

so I'm not a bit surprised. I imagine the frozen dinners in the supermarket will be the substitute for a while before they finally bite the bullet and buy cook books and use videos to supplement the instructions.

Scratch cooking is one of the best ways to cut household expenses. It's also healthier than fast or frozen foods. The tradeoff is time, but fresh food can be prepared very simply and quickly, leaving only cleanup as any sort of time suck and it doesn't have to be a bad one.

Just be aware that the artistry required to take some inedible things, applying heat, and turning out good food can be addictive.

As long as you steer away from cookbooks by celebrity chefs, it's also a damned sight cheaper.

(Both McDs and frozen, prepared foods have a place, just not every day. Eat that stuff all the time, it'll kill you)

[MissB]

35. It truly shocks me how many folks do not cook

I made sure my two sons could cook by the time they left for college.

They’re more adventurous than I am nowadays! One kid was making ramen broth from scratch the other day (like seaweed, mushrooms, bean paste..)

The other kid regularly tries new NYT cooking recipes weekly.

I could afford canned beans but I prefer to buy them in bulk and pressure cook them from dry form.

[Warpy]

45. Canned beans are a godsend at my altitude

because even the little navy beans take forever to get done. I use the canned beans when I just want a few ounces to throw into a garlicky veggie soup.

[Cha]

49. I cook all my meals.. For Health reasons.

I used to be a cook in 3 Vegetarian restaurants before I retired.

I also used to love going out to eat, though.. back in the day.

TY

[Aristus]

60. Mrs. Aristus and I can both cook.

But after 10-12 hours days of clinic for me, and 12-hour days for her as a dental hygienist, we're just too damned exhausted to cook. People can talk easy-to-cook simple meals, meal-prep, etc, etc, until they're blue in the face. We're just too damned tired after work to cook. We get take-out.

[Maru Kitteh]

68. This nurse

Totally gets it.



So, so very tired.

[Skittles]

71. I HATE cooking

I look at recipes with, like, 20 ingredients and 20 steps and I'm like, NOPE.

[bullwinkle428]

67. YouTube is such an amazing resource for learning how to cook

any kind of dish you can think of, and it's easy to go down that rabbit hole and find all kinds of other dishes that look appealing. It really is easier than ever to become a competent home cook!

[Cirsium]

50. Amazing

Half of the workers are at a third of that income or less.

[miyazaki]

2. The exclusive deals on their app have turned paltry.

Used to be kind of good.

[unblock]

5. The app is necessary for semi-reasonable prices. The counter prices are a fine for not using the app

[durablend]

11. Even the app prices have become a joke

[unblock]

3. Mcd also made a strategic choice to raise prices to shift to fewer customers at higher profit margins

They're not wrong about the economic squeeze, but they're ignoring their part in it.

The income demographic that is now less reliable for them is nearly the same as the income demographic they decided wasn't sufficiently profitable.

[uponit7771]

62. Yep, they wanted less customers to pay more ... that's dumb

[unblock]

65. It worked until it didn't.

When it worked, it wasn't dumb as much as cynical. For paying customers, the price hike was basically pure profit. They made more than enough from that to cover for the lost customers.

But now that the economy isn't as rosy, the marginal customer is looking to save money and cutting back on McDonald's is one of the easiest ways to do that. And it's especially attractive because their own cynical strategy meant that prices were now up even more than inflation making not eating at McDonald's even more of a money-saver than it would normally be.

Not to mention that their strategy meant fewer restaurants, so it may not be as convenient as it used to be. Not only that, they made saving money by cutting back on McDonald's a trend in the age of social media because, again, ... that was their strategy. So if you go to social media for tips on how to save money, it's easy to find that no more McDonald's is already "a thing".

What irks me is that they're complaining about inflation when their strategy was to hike prices *more* than inflation. You can't blame inflation for that.

[uponit7771]

66. Ah, so they were above inflation averages

[SunSeeker]

87. Yup, they shit on their core customers, like Elon did at Tesla. nt

[Meowmee]

4. I never dine out anymore

But I stopped due to dietary needs and getting very sick last time. But also would not due to cost now too. And also getting exposed to non vaccinated idiots etc. Cooking for yourself etc. healthily is also very expensive now sadly.

I remember once eating at a diner we used to go to and I had stopped eating gluten. Ordered eggs Benedict and asked for lettuce instead of english muffin. It came with an english muffin so I sent it back. About two minutes later they came back with lettuce under it. It was already exposed to gluten, lol. Insert hammer hits head emoji here. 😹

Last time at a real restaurant with a friend visiting we ate out at a gf kitchen restaurant(only part of the kitchen). Within a few hours I had severe diarrhea and vomiting. I was sick for a week. Never again. I don't know what it was, probably they did not wash their hands and had virus etc. or food poisoning.

MC is just overpriced especially for junk food etc.

[homegirl]

27. I have always enjoyed eating in fine restaurants...

but the fact is, if you make that special dinner-steak, seafood, freshest seasonal vegetables, the best ingredients at home it will be one third the price!

[leftieNanner]

29. Yes!

They had fresh halibut on sale last week and I BBQed it. With asparagus and wild rice. 😋

Fed four of us for the price of one in a restaurant.

[Meowmee]

70. Yes me too, until that last time

For sure it is a lot cheaper, but still pretty expensive compared to in the past I think maybe more like 1/2 the price depending on what you are eating and which restaurant. I don't know for sure because I stopped eating out.

[leftieNanner]

31. You could come to my house!

My daughters are celiac so I'm good at GF.

Eating out can be tricky though. My older daughter went to Outback Steakhouse that has a GF menu and got sick. The server accidentally put croutons on her salad and then tried to pick them out. She barfed in the restaurant.

[Meowmee]

69. Thanks 😁

That is awful she got sick, you just can't trust any of the restaurants imo unless they are all gluten free. People don't get it that for celiac sufferers etc. any gluten can cause a severe reaction.

I am not officially celiac, I have a sensitivity, which is somewhat similar, to gluten and to some other grains. It may be more like an allergy of sorts. I am not really sure. The endoscopy showed some damage from inflammation from something. I have a lot of food and other sensitivities.

But I think it was a probably a virus that was transmitted that made me so ill that time, or the food was bad. My friend did not eat the same thing and he didn't get sick at all. I had a feeling the food was not heated properly or something so it could have gone bad and had bacteria etc. I have never gotten that ill from eating gluten/grains.

Anyway, either way I don't want to get sick like that again and I don't trust the restaurants in handling the food etc. anymore. It is not worth it to me.

[nitpicked]

6. One can buy a lot of cheap brand ramen for $5

Depending on which store is visited.

[bif]

7. It's crap anyway.

Healthier to avoid garbage like that in the first place.

[peacebuzzard]

9. that is it in a nutshell.

I get really depressed when I eat out. It's expensive and there is 0 nutrition and usually makes me queasy.

[bif]

32. I haven't eaten at a fast food restaurant in at least 15 years.

That's not to say I eat healthy at home. It's just that I don't like paying good money for crappy McDonalds fare.

[cadoman]

72. it's one thing when fast food was cheap and bad for you...

Now it's expensive and bad for you. What is even the point?

I prefer to cook up some meat and rice and vegetables that are on sale. Quality calories and no drive thru line.

[Johnny2X2X]

8. 3, 2, 1 until the blame it all on workers

McDonald's having to pay workers $16 an hour now instead of the $12 they made a few years ago is noththe reason for the price hikes.

[SunSeeker]

24. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski blamed it on inflation and economic concerns, not workers.

He would know.

[LisaM]

10. We go once or twice a month, mostly because we are catching a ferry

on Friday nights and the ferries can't be counted on to serve food anymore. And with reduced schedules, it's a scramble to make that ferry and McDonald's is the best choice.

My main gripe is service. They are so busy filling DoorDash and Uber Eats orders that they neglect customers like us who actually walk in the door (we could do the drive through but we like to stretch our legs after the drive). It's ridiculous and McDonald's is not the only offender in this regard. We went to our local Chinese place the other day, and the vestibule was crammed full of delivery drivers. Really, it's insanely annoying.

[DET]

12. There Are Still Deals

As long as you check and are willing to moderate your intake. Currently, you can order one double cheeseburger or one McChicken and get a second one for $1 more. So I can get two double cheeseburgers for $5 or two chicken sandwiches for $4. That’s a good deal and that’s plenty of food for me and my husband. Of course, McDonalds is counting on you to order fries, a drink, and a dessert with that, and that does add up. I only order fast food once a week max, but I love it and it’s still affordable if you are careful.

[SheltieLover]

20. Perhaps the op cares about others.

[marble falls]

37. Oh poop. They're no daisey.

[SheltieLover]

39. Lol

[marble falls]

40. Did you see their flame out on the other OP?

[SheltieLover]

47. No! Was that one removed too?

Wth joins a forum & asks an op what their income is, then attacks them?

[marble falls]

63. They got smacked around, I mean push back ...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20285202

[SheltieLover]

64. Looks like they have been nuked.

All posts removed.

Great response though, MF, to what was undoubtedly a disrespectful, inflammatory post.

Thx for sharing.

[marble falls]

74. We have to take active steps to keep DU civil.

[SheltieLover]

78. I couldn't agree more!

[marble falls]

25. Are you reccomending people should ignore those worse off than we? Are you a "Christian"?

[SunSeeker]

28. 74% of those in So Cal are poor or middle class.

Approximately 74% of Los Angeles County residents have a household income under $100,000. This includes households with incomes under $50,000 (45%) and those in the $50,000 - $100,000 range (29%).

I suggest you stop believing right wing talking points, and stalking people's profiles to attack them is not the flex you think it is.

[TommieMommy]

15. So true eating out is expensive.

[sagetea]

17. Hmmm...it might be health reasons too.

I mean, it's scary thinking that we no longer have the FDA protections.


sage

[yardwork]

48. I think that will take a while to sink in.

There will be food poisoning but there's nobody keeping track anymore. Information will have to spread via word of mouth.

Babies and old people will die and nobody will see the patterns.

We've gone back 100 years in terms of public health.

[Joinfortmill]

18. This may be his Waterloo.

[doc03]

19. I go for coffee in the morning using the app it is $1, regular price $2. They have the breakfast

sandwich for $2 on the app, one day I didn't have my phone had to pay over $6 for an Egg McMuffin and coffee.
A plain donut is $2.49, I can get any donut regular or filled at Kroger for 99 cents. Jimmy Dean frozen
breakfast sandwiches are as good for less than $2 each. It is ridiculous they have more than doubled the price of everything.

[Jacson6]

21. I used to go to McD's for lunch. I'd buy a double McD and Cola.

9 years ago It would cost me $3.80. Now it is $8+.

[ALBliberal]

22. I believe? The point of the OP is that working people

whether picking their kids up from daycare or grabbing a meal between kids stuff on weekends? Are wary of the splurge. We can all agree it’s not the best quality of food but on tight schedules one does go through a drive through here and there. And I do believe this is very indicative of people knowing money will be or is already short. And…. There is the ripple effect of fast food workers losing hours if not their jobs.

[snowybirdie]

23. As retirees

Lately, we used to go out for brunch regularly. Now checks are hovering around $40+ for two. Before that we switched from lunch to brunch. Before that switched from dinner to lunch. Prices keep rising. Guess Denny's 7.99 Special breakfast is our last resort.

[IronLionZion]

26. Mass deportations are great for raising prices in food processing and farming

tariffs on imported ingredients don't help. Then the Trump recession will result in stagflation. Stagnant job growth and high prices. I can't wait for MAGAts to apply for the fast food, farming, and factory jobs they complain undocumented immigrants are stealing.

[cstanleytech]

30. It doesn't help that the quality of their food has gone to the crapper either especially their french fries.

[Irish_Dem]

34. This is bad news for the economy. People are afraid to spend money on popular fast food.

This means consumers are anxious and afraid to spend money.
And it is not easily turned around.

Does not bode well for the economy this year.

[SunSeeker]

86. People are cutting back on everything, not just fast food.

Yes, very bad news for the economy.

[Irish_Dem]

93. Yes this is the point. McDonald's represents what is going on in the rest of the economy.

[chia]

36. I've pulled spending way back this year, especially for eating out. I simply can't justify the cost, and

I can eat better at home anyway. My coffee's better, too.

[SunSeeker]

38. My husband only goes when there's free fries on the app.

He's kinda addicted.

[Javaman]

41. perhaps the orange asshole can help them out.

he needs to double is daily order.

[delisen]

42. McDonald's is Trump World

Big Donor to Trump

The food is not heathy.

The coffee is weak and overpriced.

[getagrip_already]

43. This is part of their stregic plan....

Fewer customers spending more money for more profit as expenses fall and dollars per customer rise.

Its a feature, not a bug.

[ImNotGod]

44. I never eat out, I love to cook, but I do get a pizza at the local pizza shop from time to time. nt

[AverageOldGuy]

46. We have pretty much stopped eating out

Two of us, 82 and 80. Wife's health is not good, I'm in decent shape. We would not be confused with wealthy people but we are okay -- retired military, retired public school teacher, two social security incomes. Recently sold the house we built 18 years ago for a very good profit -- not enough to pay capital gains, so, we get to keep it all.

We are down to two times eating out each month.
-- One Sunday after church to our favorite diner for country fired steak swimming in gravy, potatoes, lots of other very healthy stuff.
-- One Saturday morning to local greasy spoon for breakfast.

No fast food, no last minute decisions to order take-out, stick with the schedule, do our own simple cooking.

[Godot51]

51. Of course...

... the poor, the working class, and the middle class are unimportant ant in today's America.

They need to be satisfied with the table scraps they are given and whatever liquid trickles down.

[bucolic_frolic]

52. I think the last Big Mac I had was about $3.99

There was a McD's drive through. Order Big Mac, get hamburger. Ask for fries .... cold. Sausage biscuit, no meat.

Haven't returned.

[Norrrm]

53. MdDonald's app is garbage.

Installed it but it just runs in circles trying to validate via email.

They tie it to your email instead of a password. Might work better with a password.

One time, I got through and 'could not download specials'.

Uninstall and send Ronald McDonald to Burger King.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

54. I love to eat out, but the portions are

humongous everywhere. Well, okay, at a fast-food place you can choose to order a single hamburger, or one taco, or a small pizza you share with one or two others. But the portions at regular restaurants? I hate how much I'm forced to waste. Even most appetizers have gotten out of control.

[GenThePerservering]

75. No need to waste!

Just get a to-go box for the leftovers and enjoy them for lunch or dinner next day.

I do that all the time - two meals for the price of one.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

77. That's assuming what I've ordered

will keep and reheat. Not everything does. Or it might be that I'll be driving around in a car for the next six hours, no access to a fridge. Or, that I'm simply on the road and again, no access to a fridge.

Let's begin with smaller portion sizes, or at least the opportunity to order a smaller portion. I am trying to remember to order a half portion, but alas, my brain doesn't always remind me.

[DET]

84. Couldn't Agree More

Restaurant portions are out of control and have been for years. Who can eat all that food? That results in a huge amount of unnecessary waste. I’d happily patronize places that offered smaller portions at lower prices.

[Emile]

55. Cheaper to eat at Applebee's.

[wolfie001]

56. The only way I purchase there now is through the app

More reasonable prices.

[Cha]

57. Early this year I remember a pic of the two Mumps

Last edited Fri May 2, 2025, 01:07 AM - Edit history (1)

& some other Putin Puppet on a Plane... Gorging on junk.. those big macs and lots of fries.

[SunSeeker]

88. Yes, Shitler got Elon & RFK Jr to eat McDonald's. They'll do anything for their Orange Overlord.

[Cha]

91. That's the pic.. Ekk! SO Ugly Gross... Fishface, Brainworm,

and the head Fascist Assface.

lol.. Oh Jr Fuck face & the Mouse Squeaker.

[underpants]

58. Wawa's prices are basically hidden and you can get anything you want.

Whatever drink in any size. Salty breakfast food. Smokes. Gum. Candy. Whatever It’s a standard morning stop for a lot of welders like HVAC Movers plumbers etc.

[SunSeeker]

85. I wish there were Wawas in Southern California.

I remember stopping at one while traveling in Pennsylvania a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised how cheap my sandwich ended up being. Way cheaper than Subway! I don't think I could have made it any cheaper at home.

[kimbutgar]

59. But McDonalds CEO will still kiss the orange anus's a$$ !

[uponit7771]

61. Load anti DEI announcement was our last straw from them

[sciencescience]

73. fast food is expensive, grocery stores are cheaper

[SunSeeker]

80. Yes, grocery stores are less expensive than fast food, but they aren't cheap. nt

[GenThePerservering]

76. We go out once a week to a pub

dinner and a couple of pints each - we walk or take the train to various pubs.

It's not cheap, but it's one of life's pleasures. The rest of the time we just cook save for the once a week coffee-house visit on our bike ride. We don't have very many expenses, though - absolutely no fast food and our grocery bills aren't terribly high because we buy stuff in bulk and have pretty simple tastes.

It's just fitting everything together so that the budget works.

[SunSeeker]

79. You are lucky you can keep things simple.

My son is in college now, but when he was in high school and I was working full time and rushing to get home to drive him to various sports team games and practices, the fast food drive thru and Subway sandwich shops were how we made it all work. I can't imagine busy parents doing that today with these prices.

Fortunately, my son cooks all his own meals in college. But his grocery bill is still around $150/week.

[jmbar2]

81. Got disillusioned about eating out after visiting a restaurant supply store in my small town

A lot of the dishes offered by local restaurants were there in the freezer section, waiting to be reheated.

Soups, appetizers, fried foods, pasta sauces, desserts, veggies. Restaurant prices are just too high for me when it's mostly nuked frozen food.

[SunSeeker]

83. Oh wow, sounds like where I should be shopping! What's the name of the supply store? nt

[jmbar2]

89. Here's the link - prepare to be amazed

https://www.chefstore.com/locations/store/newport-541/?srsltid=AfmBOorosXGNlUpu1_VVqXzEpAmfCs4WkTXYRFeg3pSmL6gpDQcDCtjl

[SunSeeker]

90. Very cool, thanks. Too bad there's none in Southern California.

But next time I'm up in Northern California I'll hit one up.

[hamsterjill]

82. We just had a new, local restaurant open in my area. It's doing well. But I can't handle the prices.

The new restaurant is a guy who had a successful food truck gig, and then decided to try a stand alone location when another restaurant closed. The place is packed every time I've been by there of late. It's on my way home. But I can't see it sustaining once the newness wears off.

I can't justify paying $14 for biscuits and gravy for breakfast no matter how good it is. I'm sure the food on the menu is good, but the prices (even if perfectly substantiated) just turn me off. It would be a minimum of $100 for a family of four to eat dinner there - and that would be from the sandwich side of the menu. I'm just astounded that people can do that very often. I'm in redneck Texas and most people in the area are lower income to medium income at the most.

[SunSeeker]

92. Yup. It's at least $50 for 2 people to go out to eat at a casual place--that's without alcohol.

A fancy place will go well over $100 for 2. Just not worth it, even if you have the money.

[BlueTsunami2018]

94. Burger stocks were always a good buy during recessions.

Not anymore it seems.

This is worse news than people think.