McDonald’s Turnaround Slow to Bring More Customers

All-day breakfast has benefitted the Golden Arches, but hasn’t been enough to boost customer traffic.

October 27, 2016

CHICAGO – The Chicago Tribune reports that McDonald’s Corp. has the all-day breakfast menu covered, but what the QSR hasn’t quite figured out yet is “how to get more customers into its restaurants.”

The news source writes that according to internal company documents obtained by Bloomberg, McDonald’s is facing its fourth consecutive year of traffic declines. “Growing guest counts is our main challenge," stated an email that recapped a September meeting among McDonald’s franchise leaders and company executives. "Over the past 12 months, we have been pretty flat."

The email continued that to build a sustainable business, McDonald’s needs to show progress in three areas: sales, guest counts and cash flow. "And today we are making uneven progress," noted the email.

The Tribune notes that since CEO Steve Easterbrook took over in March 2015, things have been looking up for the QSR, including efforts to revamp the drive-thru and improve food quality, such as cage-free eggs, antibiotic-free chicken and real butter in Egg McMuffins. All-day breakfast and efficiencies in the kitchen have provided an initial bump, but “they may not be the long-term catalyst the chain needs.”

To attract more traffic, McDonald’s is focusing on several consumer segments: those who frequent the chain for breakfast and coffee, those who dine in a McDonald’s primarily for lunch, and families and children.

"We've talked about our main focus being growing guest counts, certainly in the U.S.," CFO Kevin Ozan said during a conference call last week.

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