McDonald’s To Extend $5 Value Meal Promo for Another Month in Push To Attract Consumers

By Danielle Ong

Jul 22, 2024 09:01 PM EDT

Fast food chain McDonald's has announced it will extend its popular $5 value meal promo for another month as part of a push to attract more consumers back to its stores.

In a memo first obtained and reported by Bloomberg, executives for McDonald's said that nearly all of its business units (93%) voted in favor of extending the deal through August instead of ending it on July 25.

McDonald's Profit Tops Estimates as New Menu Items Help Results — A pedestrian walks past a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. McDonalds Corp. shares soared the most in almost seven years after third-quarter profit topped analysts estimates, showing Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook's plan to turn around the world's largest restaurant chain is gaining traction.
(Photo : Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Our message is resonating with our millions of customers," Myra Doria, national field president, and Tariq Hassan, U.S. chief marketing and customer experience officer, wrote in the memo also obtained by CNBC.

"When our customers are ordering the $5 Meal Deal, they aren't visiting the competition, and early performance shows this deal is meeting the objective of driving guests back to our restaurants," the memo further read.

The $5 value meal, introduced on June 25, includes a McChicken or McDouble, four-piece chicken nuggets, french fries, and a small soda.

Behind McDonald's $5 Value Meal

McDonald's launched the $5 value meal as part of an effort to boost its traffic, especially after lower-income diners began staying away from restaurants due to inflation-fueled hikes.

McDonald's is not the only chain to introduce a value promo. Burger King, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Sonic Drive-In, and Wendy's have also launched value offerings in recent weeks, with promos ranging between $3 and $5.

Did the Value Offering Work?

Since McDonald's launched the $5 value meal, foot traffic to the chain jumped, with visits "exceeding year-to-date daily visit averages," per data from foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai. The firm also noted that June 25---the day of the launch---was McDonald's busiest Tuesday in 2024 thus far, drawing 8.0% more visits than the same day last year.

That being said, the value promotion would unlikely be profitable for McDonald's, according to Quartz, citing an email from Arlene Spiegel, the president of consulting firm Arlene Spiegel & Associates. Specifically, Spiegel said McDonald's franchisees are unlikely to see any profit from the value meals.

Roughly 95% of McDonald's are franchisee-owned. These stores typically set their own prices and are responsible for handling other overhead costs such as rent, insurance, permits, and taxes.