McDonald’s launches $5 menu

Starting June 25, the fast-food chain will offer a new $5 meal at most locations nationwide that includes a McDouble cheeseburger or McChicken sandwich, a small order of French fries, four Chicken McNuggets and a small soft drink.

“We’ve heard our fans’ wishes loud and clear – they expect even more value from us and that’s exactly what they’ll get this summer,” said Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, in a statement. “Value has always been part of our DNA. We’re focused on living up to that legacy.”

The deal was announced over a month ago.

The company also promoted deals from local franchises that vary from store to store. Some McDonald’s locations in Memphis are offering a free breakfast sandwich for the price of one; in Columbus, a double cheeseburger and small order of fries are available for $3.50. It also repeated a previously announced promotion where customers can get a free small order of fries with a minimum purchase of $1 through the end of the year.

McDonald’s has felt the effects of inflation and the perception that the chain has become too expensive. Customers have complained about $8 chicken sandwiches and $18 Big Mac meals, coining the term “McFlation.” McDonald’s missed earnings expectations in the fourth quarter of 2023 for the first time in nearly four years.

To counter this, Erlinger took the unusual step of issuing a public letter last month to push back against what he called “viral social media posts and poorly researched reports that McDonald’s had raised prices well above the rate of inflation.”

“I can tell you that it frustrates and concerns me and many of our franchisees when I hear that a Big Mac meal is being sold for $18 – even if it’s only at one of more than 13,700 locations in the U.S.,” he wrote. “But it’s even more troubling when people believe that this is the rule rather than the exception, or when they claim that prices for a Big Mac have increased 100% since 2019. The average price of a Big Mac in the U.S. in 2019 was $4.39. Despite a global pandemic and historic increases in supply chain costs, wages and other inflationary pressures in the years since, the average price is now $5.29. That’s a 21% increase (not 100%).”