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Think twice: Daily foods that may be ruining your teeth

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Research shows that ordering food for delivery has gotten expensive, yet demand remains high.</li><li>Pandemic habits and time-saving needs drive consumers to prioritize convenience.</li></ul>Convenience comes up with a pretty hefty cost these days.There's now a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ordering-food-through-uber-eats-doordash-gotten-wildly-expensive-2024-9">considerable difference in spending</a> between eating out and getting your meal delivered. But demand for food delivery has remained high — as has its price.The personal finance site FinanceBuzz did <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://financebuzz.com/compare-costs-food-delivery-apps">an experiment</a> in September and found that based on the cost to deliver an entrée, a side, and a drink from 10 popular chains on the same day within 3 miles — organizing dinner with an app such as DoorDash, Grubhub, UberEats or Postmates can cost almost double what it would to collect it yourself. This is when factoring in charges for food, fees, taxes, and suggested tips. Business Insider contacted these delivery companies for comment. Both Uber — which owns UberEats and Postmates — and Grubhub pointed out that restaurants also often set the menu prices for delivery, and these may sometimes be higher than when purchasing in-store. Still, diners aren't necessarily being deterred by the much higher prices.Last week, food delivery company DoorDash, reported an 18% rise in orders year over year in its third quarter of 2024. Revenue grew 25% to $2.7 billion in the same period.While Uber doesn't split out the results of its individual delivery companies, it saw gross bookings for its delivery segment grow by 16% year on year in Q3.So, why has delivery gotten this expensive?<h2 id="ef2204e7-2a73-4ce1-b97e-9e59db13fb63">Consumer competition</h2>"As app delivery has become more popular, apps have to pay more to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drive-for-uber-eats-after-layoff-would-not-recommend-2024-7">drivers</a> to convince them to make deliveries for their team — with many drivers juggling multiple apps throughout their shifts," Anthony Miyazaki, a professor of marketing at Florida International University, told Business Insider."At the same time, demand for delivery pushed consumers to unknowingly compete against each other, with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-to-tip-food-delivery-driver-doordash-ubereats-2023-7">a willingness to pay more for delivery and more for tips</a> to get their food delivered on time," he said. A food delivery driver <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-delivery-driver-gets-big-tips-declines-orders-wealthy-areas-2023-4">previously told BI</a> that he decides to accept or pass on a variety of deliveries often based on the highest upfront tips.<div type="image" title="food on a table from doordash delivery service" height="528" width="772" msid="114979379" hostid="261" sizebytes="27174"></div>This led delivery app companies to take a higher cut from restaurants and raise fees for customers, while at the same time, drivers are looking for higher tips, Miyazaki explained, which all results in a much pricier food order.Matched with inflation resulting in the soaring prices of labor and commodities, many chains — including Starbucks, McDonald's, KFC, In-N-Out, and Olive Garden — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-price-rises-tipping-point-value-deals-combos-mcdonalds-2024-8">have increased the cost of menu items</a>.There are a couple of reasons that, despite the hikes, Americans are still choosing the ease of using an app to get dinner.<h2 id="5a6cf862-4bfe-4ddc-b330-71cd4f343f80">Creatures of habit</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/changes-restaurants-pandemic-qr-codes-self-service-kiosks-2024-10">The way we dined changed</a> following the COVID-19 pandemic.But despite lockdowns coming to an end and the country gradually opening back up, people grew accustomed to the trend of ordering food."The pandemic has shifted dining habits, leading more consumers to seek out restaurant-quality meals at home," Alon Chen, CEO of Tastewise, a consumer data platform for food and beverage brands, said."Consumers now consider ordering takeout as a time-saving experience akin to dining out but in the coziness of one's living room," he said.For Miyazaki, because of the rise of streaming, more are comfortable with 'entertaining in' rather than going out for a meal."Also, with more people working from home, they're likely further from lunchtime restaurants and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-lunch-experts-broken-not-take-breaks-2024-9">don't feel the need to get away from the office anymore for their lunch break</a>," he said.<h2 id="ad899ce2-c371-4933-b511-e71d9133d92b">Time is money</h2>Oliver Wright, a senior managing director and the global lead for consumer goods and services at Accenture, explained that consumers feel "time-poor."This means that although <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/cutting-out-cost-of-convenience-for-a-month-2021-11">more money is spent on ordering food</a> than cooking or eating in a restaurant, the customer is saving time, he told BI.The degree to which <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-doordash-instacart-still-delivering-lots-as-consumers-pull-back-2024-8">convenience and ease are playing on consumers' minds</a> to alleviate time pressure has become especially relevant in recent years, Wright said, to the extent that people are willing to spend more if time is saved."Feeling 'time-poor' is a really dominant attribute," he said."The value of time might be very high," Chris Olivola, an associate professor of marketing at Tepper School of Business, told BI.He said that for the rational consumer, whether because of the amount of money earned per hour, how much importance is given to an activity, or the contribution being made to a company, these food delivery apps are popular because of how they assess their time.It's also about expertise, he said."You might be a good cook, but if you want Thai food and you don't know how to cook Thai, you have to teach yourself, Olivola said, "and that takes time."

Food deliveries keep getting more expensive — but we can't stop ordering       

<ul class="summary-list"><li>McDonald's Quarter Pounders have been linked to an <keyword id="22099782" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-coli-outbreak" source="keywords">E. coli outbreak</keyword> in several states, the CDC said.</li><li>McDonald's said it will temporarily remove the burgers from its menus in affected areas.</li></ul>A deadly E. Coli outbreak has been linked to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-e-coli-outbreak-tied-quarter-pounders-2024-10">McDonald's Quarter Pounder</a>. So far, one person has died, and 10 others have been hospitalized in connection with the outbreak, which impacted 49 people across 10 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. McDonald's said it believes the outbreak may be linked to the slivered onions used on its Quarter Pounder. The fast-food chain said it is temporarily taking the burger off the menu in several states. "Negative <keyword id="20000858" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-safety" source="keywords">food safety</keyword> news is never welcomed by restaurants operators, especially those working to improve the brand image after getting off-sides on consumer affordability in recent years," Jon Tower, an analyst at Citigroup, said in a note to clients, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-22/mcdonald-s-quarter-pounders-linked-to-e-coli-outbreak-cdc-says?srnd=homepage-americas&amp;sref=yaJhKSOh">Bloomberg</a>. Tower said McDonald's outlook depends on the company's response, which should include taking responsibility, controlling the outbreak, and overcorrecting on food safety, the outlet reported. Examining how other fast-food giants have recovered from recent health-related crises might also provide insight into how McDonald's will try to recover from the incident. <h2>How Chipotle and Wendy's came back from health-related problems</h2>Several fast-food brands have bounced back from food-safety incidents before. One of those is Chipotle, the fast-casual Mexican chain that McDonald's had a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-ridiculous-reason-mcdonalds-sold-chipotle-2015-5">90% stake in</a> until 2006. In 2015 and 2016, hundreds of customers reported becoming ill after eating at Chipotle outlets. Chipotle's stock price plummeted, and the company eventually agreed to pay a $25 million <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/press-releases/chipotle-mexican-grill-agrees-pay-25-million-fine-resolve-charges-stemming-more-1100-cases-foodborne">fine</a> to settle criminal charges related to outbreaks that impacted 1,100 people between 2015 and 2018. But less than five years later, the company and its stock price had <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/business/chipotle-stock-earnings.html">recovered</a>. So what did Chipotle do? In 2016, the company <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ir.chipotle.com/news-releases?item=122453">announced</a> a spate of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/business/every-days-a-safety-drill-as-chipotle-woos-customers-back.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fstephanie-strom">new food-safety protocols</a> — such as rinsing produce multiple times and putting stickers on food storage containers to indicate when they were sanitized — and hired James Marsden,a professor from Kansas State University, to serve as executive director of food safety. In 2017, Chipotle <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ir.chipotle.com/news-releases?item=122384">announced</a> its founder, Steve Ells, would be stepping down as CEO in favor of someone with "demonstrated turnaround expertise." In 2018, Brian Niccol, currently the CEO of Starbucks, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ir.chipotle.com/news-releases?item=122376">took over</a> as the CEO of Chipotle after a successful stint at the helm of Taco Bell. Niccol told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/business/chipotle-stock-earnings.html">The New York Times</a> in 2019 that Chipotle had become "an industry leader" in food safety, adding: "We're doing some really progressive things on the food safety front, and we're going to have to, because we're going to stay committed to using real ingredients." Chipotle's recovery may also have hinged on expanding the business in areas unrelated to food safety. "They are exceptional in how well the brand has capitalized on digital ordering," Sara Senatore, a Bernstein analyst who followed Chipotle, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/business/chipotle-stock-earnings.html">the Times</a> in 2019. Wendy's dealt with a similar situation. Between July and August 2022, Wendy's restaurants were linked to an E. coli outbreak in six states, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/ecoli/2022/o157h7-08-22/index.html">the CDC</a>. A total of 109 people were infected, with 52 hospitalized. No deaths were reported. An investigation into the incident was unable to determine the specific food source responsible for the outbreak, but 46 people reported eating romaine lettuce served on the burgers and sandwiches before falling sick, per <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/ecoli/2022/o157h7-08-22/details.html">the CDC</a>. As a precaution, the fast-food chain removed romaine lettuce from menu items in the affected states. Despite the E. coli outbreak, the company's US sales <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://s1.q4cdn.com/202642389/files/doc_financials/2022/q3/2022-Q3-Press-Release.pdf">jumped 7.7% in the third quarter of 2022</a>, compared with the year prior. In its latest <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wendys.com/csr-what-we-value/reports">corporate responsibility report</a>, published in May, Wendy's said it was committed to continuously improving its food safety standards and operational procedures and has conducted over 12,000 Food Safety Assessments in its restaurants worldwide. <h2>What McDonald's should do</h2>The McDonald's case differs from similar incidents at other <keyword id="20697449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fast-food-chains" source="keywords">fast-food chains</keyword> primarily due to the iconic status of the Quarter Pounder, Alexandra Leung, the founder of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://monogic.co/">Monogic</a>, an F&amp;B marketing and PR agency in Singapore and Hong Kong, told Business Insider. "As a classic menu item, any food safety issue involving the Quarter Pounder could significantly impact consumer trust and brand reputation, making it a more sensitive issue for McDonald's," she said. The Quarter Pounder is important to McDonald's menu — and to its brand more broadly. Menu "classics" like the Quarter Pounder <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-quarter-pounder-ecoli-outbreak-why-important-sales-2024-10">have made up a bulk of food sales</a> in McDonald's top markets in recent years. The company's stock price tumbled nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, following the news. However, Leung said the company's well-established food safety management system and history of rigorous supplier audits may allow for a more effective response. The fast-food chain will also have to conduct thorough audits of its suppliers' practices, she said. In addition to removing any affected items from the menu, McDonald's should also communicate clearly with its customers throughout the process, Leung said. "Clear messaging about the steps being taken to ensure food safety is vital. This proactive approach will help reassure customers that their health is a top priority," Leung said. "Transparency is crucial in rebuilding trust with customers, as it demonstrates accountability and a commitment to their safety." October 24, 2024 — An earlier version of this story mentioned a product recall of the affected items, McDonald's has not confirmed an official recall.

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<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hillaryhelennn">Hillary Wichlin </a>is a 31-year-old first-time mom to a newborn baby living in San Diego.</li><li>Her mom came to live with her during the weeks after her baby's birth for "confinement."</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hillaryhelennn">Hillary Wichlin</a>. It has been edited for length and clarity.The moment I <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-i-wish-i-knew-about-pregnancy-before-getting-pregnant-2022-10">found out I was pregnant</a>, I knew my mom would come to live with me after the birth of the baby for my "confinement." It's a common practice in Taiwanese culture after the birth of a baby.The woman who has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-mom-sparks-debate-with-korean-postpartum-care-center-2023-8">just given birth stays home for one month</a>, doing very little other than feeding the baby and letting her body heal after pregnancy and birth. During that time, someone — either a family member, close friend, or even a paid employee — will <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-gave-birth-in-india-and-received-unconditional-support-2022-6">take care of the woman who has just given birth</a>.<h2 id="6252573e-75d2-4e4c-bd01-68e2b3f7aeca">She spent the week before birth preparing nourishing food</h2>A week before I gave birth, I flew my mom in from Wisconsin. Before the baby was born, mom spent her days <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/only-ate-home-cooked-food-for-a-month-what-happened-2019-8">preparing food for my confinement</a> — peeling, chopping, dividing, and freezing.After Lily was born, my mom jumped into high gear, keeping me fed with nutritious food that promoted healing. She wakes at 5:30 a.m. to start. For breakfast, she might start me off with a red date tea, salmon congee, and lots of fruit. Lunches, snacks, and dinners will include soups, drinks, fruit, nuts, vegetables, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/high-protein-plant-based-foods-blue-zones-diet-longevity-2022-1">lots of protein</a>. When I can't feed myself because Lily is feeding from me, my mom will literally put food in my mouth for me.During confinement, you <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-quit-coffee-after-25-years-energy-less-anxiety-2023-2">aren't meant to have any caffeine</a>, sugar, or preservatives. You aren't supposed to eat or drink anything cold, spicy, or sour. The reasoning is that you want your body to get back to a place of balance so you heal and produce plenty of breast milk for the baby.Without my mom preparing food for me, I know I would have just eaten what was quickly available. She completely removed the pressure of having to think about what I was going to eat. All I needed to focus on for those first days was taking care of Lily and resting.<h2 id="961c1382-17d7-49a9-a793-91d12cdf78f9">She's OK with me showering even though it's technically not allowed in traditional confinement</h2>In traditional confinement, the new mother isn't meant to leave her room — not even to shower or take a walk. Showering can make you cold, something that should be avoided to maintain the warmth of your chi. Going outside makes the body exert too much energy.But because my mom understands the modern world, she's been OK with me showering occasionally as long as I have a "ginger rinse" before. She watches Lily for my husband and I to go for short walks around the park.For 30 days, my mom's focus was primarily on me. Often in America, when visitors come, they want to see the baby. But while my mom loves holding Lily, she is here for me, her baby.I read about women who have postpartum depression and realized how having this time of confinement, with my mom taking care of me, has guarded me against it. The first 30 days after having Lily were exhausting physically, but overall, the experience has been wonderful.<h2 id="a25e64a9-24c9-4a35-98dc-303aad06a672">I'm dreading the day she leaves</h2>Mom being here has also been good for the relationship with my husband. She's had Lily at times, so I can just be alone with him.When Mom isn't cooking, she is cleaning or holding Lily. She rarely rests until she heads to bed at 9 p.m.My husband has loved her being here, too. Because confinement isn't part of his culture, I reassured him that when he was ready for my mom to go home, he could just say. But he's said she can stay as long as she wants.Although it's been more than 30 days, my mom is still here taking care of me, Lily, and the house. I'm dreading it when she leaves. I don't know how we will do this without her. For now, I just keep extending her departure state. I wish she could stay forever.I'm hoping she moves near to us in the future so she can be around more and have Lily so we don't have to pay the astronomical price of childcare when I go back to work.

My mom moved in with me for the first 30 days of my baby's life. She feeds me homemade food and ensures I can rest

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<ul class="summary-list"><li>A neurologist says there's a lot you can do for your brain health through small dietary changes.</li><li>The first tip he recommends is eating more leafy greens, like spinach and kale.</li></ul>Dean Sherzai, a neurologist and <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/brain-expert-explains-cognitive-test-for-president-not-easy-2024-7">dementia</a> researcher, has a favorite study.Published in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/leafy-greens-linked-slower-age-related-cognitive-decline">2018</a>, and funded by the National Institute on Aging, the blockbuster study — which examined the eating patterns of over 900 older adults living around Chicago — showed that those who ate about one or two cupfuls of salad greens a day, including spinach, kale, collards, and lettuce, had brains that performed about 11 years younger than their lettuce-less peers of the same age."Just add green," Sherzai, half of the husband-and-wife team who call themselves "<a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/foods-that-boost-brain-health-neuro-nine-list-plants-2024-7">The Brain Docs</a>," told me when I asked what single change I could make today to stave off neurodegenerative diseases.<div type="image" title="dean and ayesha brain docs" height="431" width="633" msid="112050248" hostid="261" sizebytes="18988"></div>"If you have to start one place, because there's only so much space in your stomach, add two servings of greens to your diet," he told Business Insider. With that, "you've significantly reduced inflammation, oxidation, glucose dysregulation, and lipid dysregulation," which are all hallmarks of many age-related diseases.Sherzai knows it's tempting to reach for a novel, quick-fix potion that promises to boost <a target="_blank" href="https://businessinsider.com/blue-zone-nutrition-meal-plan-2024-7">brain health</a>, like a fancy supplement, an expensive gummy, or a new smoothie powder. But what he's discovered, after decades of research, is that some of the "most profound" ways we can influence our own cognitive health are the most old-school.Our thirst for novelty may be steering us in the wrong direction, away from seeing the truly phenomenal chemical properties of greens. If there is anything like a silver bullet ingredient for your brain, it's more likely to be the cocktail of nutrients quietly sitting inside bright green leaves, helping them grow.<h2 id="1f0fe884-ce9e-4c3c-bbc9-54f0fd161266">Why chlorophyll from plants is more powerful than green juices and supplements</h2><div type="image" title="A plate of various salad leaves." height="1007" width="1510" msid="112050245" hostid="261" sizebytes="283642"></div>When we eat green plants, we are consuming a green pigment molecule called chlorophyll, which helps plants photosynthesize — capturing solar rays and converting them into energy to grow.Chlorophyll is green because red and blue light from the sun gets taken in and absorbed by the plant for energy. Green light is what's left over, and what gets reflected back to us visually. And it turns out that those green chlorophyll molecules are packed with a rich bounty of nutrients including iron, magnesium, and nitrogen — ingredients that are fundamental for life, whether it's a plant's or a person's.Wellness brands have tried to harness this natural dream team combo by putting it in supplements and things like chlorophyll water. But because chlorophyll is so unstable, they often have to take out the magnesium and <a target="_blank" href="https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/book/export/html/6761#:~:text=The%20basic%20structure%20of%20chlorophyll,soluble%20and%20insoluble%20in%20water.https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/book/export/html/6761">add in</a> other elements like copper or zinc instead. Experts say it's unclear whether those industrial versions of chlorophyll could have much of a health benefit at all. What we do know is that you can get the health benefits if you consume chlorophyll in its original packaging. In other words: eat more leaves."The chlorophyll itself is maybe not that useful," Troy Magney, an associate professor focused on plant optics at the University of California, Davis, told Business Insider, reflecting the fact that there is no solid research to support chlorophyll supplementation.Rather, it's the chemical "building blocks" of chlorophyll molecules in the leaves we eat that likely help us humans thrive, Magney said. Crack open that dusty chemistry textbook, and you'll discover many of the various atomic components of the chlorophyll molecule, as well as other ingredients necessary for proper plant metabolism and growth, are great human health boosters."Things like iron and magnesium and nitrogen and these nutrients that all are necessary for chlorophyll," Magney explained.Magnesium is an essential element for our muscles, nerves, bones, and blood sugar — and roughly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122548.htm">half of us aren't getting enough</a> of it. Iron plays a key role in carting fresh oxygen around our body, while nitrogen helps us grow, and keeps our brain and immune system strong.People who eat more leafy greens also take in decent amounts of other nutrients including vitamin K, folate, lutein, and beta-carotene. Experts think these nutrients — all present thanks to the bright pigments in the leaves — may work together synergistically in ways that can protect our brains. We know already that they're great for curbing inflammation, improving eyesight, and protecting DNA.<h2 id="974cebad-46f8-486e-a364-86e42ac6f0db">Darker leaves have more nutrients in each bite</h2><div type="image" title="Kale." height="3434" width="5151" msid="112050244" hostid="261" sizebytes="764250"></div>Sherzai recommends incorporating more of the darkest green plants like spinach and kale into your diet when you can."The darker the better," he said.That's because darker greens have, by default, more chlorophyll packed inside of them, and thus more nutrition in every bite."There's more nutrients required to produce more chlorophyll," Magney said. "So there's a higher density of these compounds in the leaf itself."It's also a good idea to consume your plants as fresh as possible. When leafy greens start to go bad and turn yellow in your fridge, that's good evidence that they're losing some of the green chlorophyll they created while they were growing."Those yellow pigments are always there, but we can't actually see them because the chlorophylls are so intense, they kind of overwhelm the yellow pigments," Amber Flores, a Ph.D. candidate in plant biology at UC Davis, told BI. "Once the chlorophyll starts to degrade as the leaf begins to senesce, or to die, we start to see the yellows come out."There may still be some beneficial carotenoid pigments tucked into those yellowing leaves (and they are great for eye health) but in general, a wilting leaf is becoming less and less nutritious than it used to be.So look for the very freshest lettuce you can find, and if you like olive oil, drizzle a little on top — the fat will help your body better absorb nutrients inside the plant too. If you happen to prefer a less colorful green leaf, like a pale iceberg or romaine, don't be ashamed. Go for it.<div type="image" title="person picking iceberg lettuce" height="787" width="1024" msid="112050249" hostid="261" sizebytes="64192"></div>"I know people think that lettuce is kind of like crunchy water, especially iceberg lettuce, but that is definitely diminishing the other things that lettuce can bring to the table," Flores said. While it's true that lettuce growing inside a protective ball like a lettuce head won't be able to absorb as much sunlight as something like a floppy stock of spinach, and therefore won't be bright green and chlorophyll-rich, it still has a decent amount of other minerals and fiber packed inside."It's not as pigmented as some of the other leafy greens, but again, still very much worthwhile to eat and also easier to incorporate into a lot of meals," Flores said. "Just keep <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-aging-foods-brain-heart-health-better-immunity-longevity-2023-9">eating vegetables</a>," she said, however you like them.

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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Fast-food chains and retailers are using loyalty programs to drive sales amid inflation challenges.</li><li>These programs are key for customer retention and giving chains a competitive advantage.</li></ul>Retailers and fast-food chains are leaning into loyalty programs to drive sales. This week, McDonald's reported its Q3 results. Global <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-sales-dropped-second-quarter-in-a-row-sharees-down-2024-10">sales dropped 1.5% in its latest quarter</a>, following a 1% slide in the previous quarter.However, one bright spot in its earnings was that the fast-food chain reported sales to its loyal members reached over $28 billion for the 12 months ending September — and $8 billion during the quarter across 50 loyalty markets. This is up from $6 billion in Q1 and $7 in Q2. The figure includes sales in both company-owned and franchisee restaurants.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-new-rewards-program-offers-free-burgers-and-mcchickens-2021-6">MyMcDonald's Rewards</a> was first introduced in the US in the summer of 2021. By the end of that year, McDonald's said over 21 million shoppers in the US had enrolled in the system. The program has since expanded to other markets.For every dollar spent on an order, you receive points. When accumulated, these can then be used to redeem free menu items.CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts that the company's aim to reach 250 million active members by the end of 2027 was achievable. As of December 2023, McDonald's had 150 million 90-day active users in its loyalty program."We know as we drive loyalty adoption, we increase the frequency of visit and the spend from these customers over time," Kempczinski said.<h2 id="88661e47-ef97-4b4a-ae95-3bf701414a31">It's not just McDonald's</h2>McDonald's is not the only chain reaping the rewards from loyal consumers.Starbucks said in its most recent report earlier this week that its own rewards program had reached 33.8 million 90-day active members, a 4% year-on-year increase. Former boss Laxman Narasimhan said in February that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-offer-fewer-deals-under-new-ceo-2024-10">60% of the company's sales</a> were from the nearly 34 million Starbucks Rewards members.Another popular example is Costco, which has become a master at building a superfan base.The warehouse club chain said its executive-tier members, who get 2% rewards on purchases, are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-are-doubling-down-on-loyalty-programs-2024-8">responsible for about 73% of worldwide sales</a>.For West Paschal, cofounder of Alpine IQ, a Colorado-based customer loyalty platform that works with retail businesses, people are hesitant to spend on non-essential goods, so it is particularly important for businesses to use rewards programs to draw them in."It's especially necessary right now," he told Business Insider, "persuading consumers with loyalty deals can be a way to get them back in the store."<div type="image" title="A Starbucks barista works at an espresso machine" height="3456" width="5184" msid="114852909" hostid="261" sizebytes="514486"></div>As prices have soared due to inflation and shoppers have tightened their belts, fast-food chains have been competing against each other to tempt them back with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-price-rises-tipping-point-value-deals-combos-mcdonalds-2024-8">the best value meals</a>. McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King all rolled out $5 combo deals, for example."Loyalty programs are among the most effective ways businesses can cultivate customer engagement and repeat business," Kevin Shahnazari, cofounder of FinlyWealth, a personalized credit card recommendation service, said.Restaurants and stores that offer points-earning apps can drive consumers to opt to buy there over shopping at competitors and they would likely continue making their purchases somewhere where they can win rewards, he said.<h2 id="64ce7ac0-7b75-4926-88de-aa38ad203f8c">The power lies in the perks</h2>However, a good loyalty program should be about more than just the points.Financial incentives are still important, but there's a growing appreciation for rewards programs that align with the customer's values and include personalized experiences, Zsuzsa Kecsmar, chief strategy officer of Antavo Enterprise Loyalty Cloud, an AI-powered customer loyalty platform, said.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chappell-roan-against-hm-doesnt-bode-well-for-brand-2024-9">H&amp;M</a> is one of the retailers that offers exclusive event invites to its members, while <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-ceo-elliott-hill-takes-over-faces-challenges-2024-10">Nike</a> provides a customization service for its app users.For Zarina Stanford, CMO at software development firm Bazaarvoice, today's customer wants to feel recognized, and programs that achieve this can create a powerful cycle of prolonged engagement."In a marketplace where choices are endless, a strong loyalty program doesn't just retain customers, it also builds a relationship that feels personal and valuable," she said.It also provides companies with valuable data to understand customers better and tailor marketing.For the future of rewards systems, Kecsmar said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-your-business-can-leverage-data-to-increase-customer-loyalty">technology will likely play a crucial role</a> in further adapting to the personalized needs of customers."This might include leveraging AI and advanced analytics to create more intuitive and responsive loyalty ecosystems that adapt to individual customer preferences and behaviors," she added.

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