As fast food prices continue to push away consumers, a new report has found that McDonald’s is considering adding a $5 meal to its menu in the U.S.
The report comes from CBS Money Watch, which cited a source familiar with the plans at the fast food giant.
The source said that the meal would include a choice of either a McChicken, a McDouble, or a four-piece chicken nugget with fries and a drink, CBS reported.
While the ideas are being thrown around, McDonald’s corporate offices are still talking with their franchisees about the $5 meal, the report shared.
The news comes after McDonald’s missed its quarterly profit estimates for the first time in two years.
During a post-earnings call last month, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski shared that consumers are “being very discriminating in how they spend their dollar[s],” Reuters reported.
But the issue isn’t just affecting McDonald’s, as fast food chains are all having difficulty balancing higher costs and keeping prices affordable.
A poll from Revenue Management Solutions reported in January that a quarter of those who make under $50,000 a year are cutting back on fast food.
“Clearly everybody’s fighting for fewer consumers or consumers that are certainly visiting less frequently, and we’ve got to make sure we’ve got that street-fighting mentality to win, irregardless of the context around us,” McDonald’s CFO Ian Borden said on the company’s conference call, CNBC reported.
McDonald’s remains the nation’s largest fast-food chain, with more than 2 million people at its 14,300 restaurants.
But McDonald’s hasn’t been the cheapest as of late, as the personal finance website FinanceBuzz found that it raised its menu prices the most among all U.S. fast food chains from 2014 to 2024.