Four Reasons Why McDonald's Mighty Wings Flopped

William Wei / Business InsiderMcDonald's Mighty Wings were supposed to lure customers back into restaurants.

Instead, CEO Don Thompson said that the chicken wings aren't the smash success it had hoped for.

While Mighty Wings apparently met internal targets, the item was "was not strong enough to offset" weak sales trends, Thompson said on a conference call today.

Here are some of the reasons they flopped.

1. Price: In McDonald's terms, Mighty Wings are a premium product. The wings come in packs of three for $3.69, five for $5.59, and 10 for $9.69. Thompson said the prices, which are similar to Buffalo Wild Wings, were "not the most competitive."

2. Spice: Thompson said the wings were too spicy for many customers' tastes.

3. Appearance: The Mighty Wings looked too much like "McNuggets with bones," writes Susan Berfield at Bloomberg Businessweek.

4. Economy: Many McDonald's customers are still struggling financially-and are more likely to spend their hard-earned money on a tried-and-true favorite.

McDonald's Mighty Wings will be available until November. Thompson said the company would continue to offer the wings at limited locations in the future.