In September 2025, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski sounded the alarm about new customer behavior. Kempczinski highlighted a “two-tier economy” that’s fundamentally changing how people eat.
The CEO observed a stark divide in the brand’s customer base, with traffic from low-income consumers dropping by double digits, and traffic from higher-income consumers (those earning more than $100,000) “doing quite well.”
The CEO identified the key consumer behavioral shift as skipping breakfast.
“And it’s because people are either choosing to skip a meal — so we’re seeing breakfast, people are actually skipping breakfast — or they’re choosing to just eat at home.”
The economic headwinds have tightened the wallets of many consumers, and it doesn’t help that over the last few years, McDonald’s average price per item has grown approximately 40%, reported CNBC in 2024.
Moreover, a March 2026 YouGov survey found that 66% of consumers who expect their finances to worsen plan to cut back specifically on eating out.
In response, McDonald’s back in September launched Extra Value Meals, such as a $5 Sausage McMuffin with Egg Meal, which comes with hash browns and a small coffee.
Now, the fast-food giant continues its effort to lure customers back with new, generous offers.
McDonald’s rolls out $3 or less meal deals to win back its value status
McDonald’s plans to launch new deals and discounts starting April, reported The Wall Street Journal.
New value offerings will include a menu of items priced at $3 or less. The goal is to offer more flexibility and choice, according to the report. The fast-food chain also plans to launch new $4 breakfast meals.
“We have achieved incredible progress together and remain committed to meeting ever-changing customer needs,” McDonald’s said in a message to chain’s franchisees, a copy of which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
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McDonald’s new “McValue 2.0” meals:
- The $4 meal deal: Consumers can order breakfast options with a McMuffin, hash browns and coffee.
- The $3 and less: Customers will also find cheaper menus with items like a sausage biscuit or a 4-piece chicken McNuggets. This replaces the buy-one-add-one-for-a-dollar menu launched in 2025.
The fast-food chain has particularly focused on improving its breakfast offering, as that category has seen the biggest pullback from lower-income consumers, according to both the CEO’s September statements and an internal company message from earlier this year, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
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McDonald’s slumping value image is rebounding
Over the last few years, McDonald’s has worked to strengthen its declining value image, which significantly dropped following the 2020 Covid pandemic lockdowns and franchisee price hikes aimed at battling inflation.
McDonald’s Value score, a net measure of whether consumers think a brand gives good value for money, fell from 25.2 in 2019 to a low of 9.2 in August 2024, according to a 2025 YouGov report.
“This drop was even more precipitous than in the sector as a whole, where Value scores fell from 9.3 to 5.0,” reads the report.
In 2024, it introduced $5 meal deals, and in January 2025, it added various $1 options when buying a full-priced item. Last fall, the chain rolled out Extra Value Meals.
These Extra Value Meals have performed well among low-income customers and helped the chain improve its value and affordability score, reported Restaurant Dive.
“As awareness for these programs has grown, we’ve seen value and affordability scores steadily improve throughout the year, which also tell us they’re resonating with customers. McDonald’s is not going to get beat on value and affordability. It’s in our DNA, and we will remain agile to respond as appropriate to a dynamic competitive landscape,” Kempczinski said during the Q4 2025 earnings call.
“We remain on track to achieve our targets for incremental traffic associated with the EVM relaunch,” said McDonald’s Executive VP & Global CFO Ian Borden.
Although the chain hasn’t fully regained its previous status, its value perceptions are improving. In fact, 21% of consumers called McDonald’s affordable last year. This is up from 18% in 2024, though still below 2019 levels, according to a survey by market-research firm Technomic and reported by The Wall Street Journal.
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