Restaurants Cut Prices to Keep Inflation-Weary Customers

Elevated menu prices are keeping Americans from eating out. Major brands are dropping prices or offering more promotions to get them back.
Restaurants Cut Prices to Keep Inflation-Weary Customers
A customer walks out of a McDonald’s restaurant in Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 23, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images
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In an era defined by inflation, America’s leading quick-service and casual dining restaurants are fighting to keep their customers.

One leading method for retaining customer loyalty is cutting menu prices. In response to dropping same-store sales and shrinking profits, the country’s biggest restaurant chains, like McDonald’s, Chili’s, and Applebee’s, are introducing new promotions geared toward capturing a bigger piece of the shrinking segment of consumers who are willing to pay a premium to eat out.

The Three Dollar Menu

In the past four years, price inflation has been the defining economic issue for most Americans.