– What benefit do fast food restaurants derive from putting all of their “deals” in their apps?

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I bought fast food for a group of people last night. The menu pricing was significantly higher than ordering through the app, which also allowed me to attach a digital coupon.

The pricing within the app is what I would expect to pay, or what I believe is “fair” or “reasonable” for chicken nuggets, French fries, and cheeseburgers.

On the other hand, I have cut my fast food consumption by at least half over the last few years because the published menu prices have skyrocketed.

What possible benefit would a fast food restaurant derive from publishing high prices to the casual customer and drastically reducing them within the app?

They have to be realizing a net loss of customers with this model, right?

In: Economics

49 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

People who use the app tend to be loyal customers who are more profitable, even at the lower prices.

The app itself is basically free advertising. Instead of having to advertise on a regular channel like Google ads or Instagram or whatever, they just send a push notification to the app for free. Fast food chains spend a ludicrous amount of money on advertising. Spending that money on digital coupons for their app users is much more cost efficient.

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