McDonald’s Comeback Hits a Snag

QSR believes expansion of all-day breakfast menu items this fall will provide another big boost.

July 27, 2016

NEW YORK – All-day breakfast may be a boon for the Golden Arches, but is consumer interest waning? The Wall Street Journal reports that sales have slowed significantly in the second quarter. Even though McDonald’s posted its fourth consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales, it wasn’t the growth analysts expected.

“Clearly, we plan to grow our business. But at the same time, we’re not trying to do that on a quarter to quarter to quarter basis,” McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook told investors. The news source notes that he commented that the demand for all-day breakfast would slow down since its initial boost, but that the QSR expects to see a lift this fall when more breakfast items become available for the all-day menu.

Easterbrook also noted the softening growth in the restaurant industry, and that consumers have been pulling back as a result of economic uncertainties.

“First of all, there is a widening gap between food away from home and food at home ... so that’s a small part of it. I think generally there is just a broader level of uncertainty in consumers’ minds at the moment, both trying to gauge their financial security going forward,” Easterbrook said. “Whether through elections or through local events, people are slightly mindful of an unsettled world. When people aren’t certain, when families are uncertain, caution starts to prevail and they start to hold back on spend.”

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