Hollis Johnson
Wendy's is using deals to entice customers.
- Wendy's is giving away free cheeseburgers every day for the rest of the month.
- To be eligible, customers need to purchase another item from the menu using the chain's app. The offer allows them to redeem one burger per person a day.
- Fast-food chains are increasingly relying on deals to entice lower-income shoppers to stores. In 2018, Wendy's expanded its 4-for-$4 bundle deal, Taco Bell doubled down on its $1 menu, and McDonald's debuted its new $1 $2 $3 menu.
Wendy's is giving away free Dave's Single cheeseburgers every day for the rest of the month.
To be eligible, customers need to purchase another item from the menu using its app. The deal can be used once a day.
Wendy's says this month-long burger binge is in celebration of National Cheeseburger Day on September 18. However, fast-food chains are increasingly being forced to lean on deals to win over customers.
As a result, there has been a flurry of offers and discounts across the industry in recent months. In 2018, Wendy's expanded its 4-for-$4 bundle deal, Taco Bell doubled down on its $1 menu, and McDonald's debuted its new $1 $2 $3 menu.
Wendy's CEO told CNBC earlier this month that this is partly due to stagnating wage growth among its lower-income American customers.
"About 40 percent of our consumers are $45,000 and under from an income bracket," CEO Todd Penegor told CNBC. "And they're not participating in the real wage growth to the extent of the rest of the consumer base."
Value has become the top reason to visit a fast-food chain, according to a UBS Evidence Lab survey shared with investors in March.
According to the survey, the emphasis on value is one of necessity. Having "less free spending money lately" and chains being "too expensive" were the top two factors that customers cited for eating at a particular chain less often.