What to know about McDonald's combo meal costs as franchisees aim to lower prices
McDonald's has made efforts to entice Americans with special promos, from the highly-popular $5 Meal Deal and rollout of the McValue Menu to the return of the Snack Wrap, and now, the fast food chain is working to slash prices on combo meals.
In an effort to help quell complaints from customers, the Golden Arches will be lowering prices on popular items after pitching the idea to franchisees, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
"After pitching operators on the plan, McDonald's and its U.S. franchisees agreed to keep the cost of eight popular combo meals 15% below the sum of the individual items' prices," the Journal wrote, citing company materials it reviewed.
Customers could save approximately 15% per meal, with a price drop of $10 to $8.50 for example, according to the report.
New Extra Value Meals are slated to join the menu later this year, with a $5 breakfast, $8 Big Mac and McNugget combo meal specials, according to the Journal.
McDonald's did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
"We're seeing fast food restaurant chains underperforming cause they've raised the prices, and consumers are starting to see that," Jennifer Streaks, a personal finance reporter at Business Insider, told ABC News.
As is the case with any McDonald's menu, the prices are set by individual franchisees.
With consumer prices rising in the U.S., the news of lower costs on something like combo meals at McDonald's could drive a return of more customers.
Last May, McDonald's USA President Joe Erlinger responded to online outrage over a Big Mac meal -- which includes the sandwich, french fries and a drink -- that cost $18, which Erlinger said was the case at only one location.
"I can tell you that it frustrates and worries me, and many of our franchisees, when I hear about an $18 Big Mac meal being sold -- even if it was at one location in the U.S. out of more than 13,700," he wrote at the time. "More worrying, though, is when people believe that this is the rule and not the exception, or when folks start to suggest that the prices of a Big Mac have risen 100% since 2019."
He wrote that the "average price of a Big Mac in the U.S. was $4.39 in 2019," and that "despite a global pandemic and historic rises in supply chain costs, wages and other inflationary pressures in the years that followed, the average cost is now $5.29."
