New data shows why McDonald's new chicken sandwich is about more than getting a leg up on the competition
- McDonald's added 3 new chicken sandwiches to its menu in February.
- Foot traffic has been up since the new sandwiches were introduced according to data from Placer.ai.
- The restaurant industry has been hit hard by dining room closures amid the pandemic.
McDonald's released three new chicken sandwiches in February into the already-crowded fast-food chicken sandwich lineup. Foot traffic at the fast food chain is up significantly following the new releases, according to a new report from Placer.ai.
Foot traffic at McDonald's was up 19.1%, 29.1%, and 21.5% on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday following the sandwich release over the previous week, Placer.ai found. Visitors are up, but still down from where they were in February 2020. Traffic was down 29.4% year over year the week of February 22, compared to being down 43.1% the week of January 25.
Foot traffic is down across the entire restaurant industry thanks to COVID-19-induced dining room closures and lowered occupancy limits. In just the first few weeks of stay-at-home orders in the US, restaurant customer transactions dropped by more than 40%.
Mobile orders and drive-thrus have made up for some of the losses, especially at fast food chains who had a head start in advanced drive-thru tech. McDonald's, already a drive-thru heavy hitter with 25,000 worldwide, says that 70% of sales in top markets are now from drive-thru orders.
A return of the chicken sandwich wars are back could potentially give a boost across across the industry. Several chains are gearing up to introduce competitors to Chick-fil-A's and Popeyes' popular sandwiches. KFC introduced a crispy chicken sandwich in February, and Jimmy John's dropped its own version of the chicken sandwich in a Super Bowl ad the same month. Most recently, Burger King announced a new chicken sandwich coming later this year.
As vaccinations continue and Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts a return to normal this year, restaurants can look forward to the possibility of full dining rooms again.