McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is upping their breakfast game. It's no secret that more people are having coffee at home instead of picking up a cup on the way to work, so fast food chains are trying to encourage people to get out of bed and get on the drive-through line.
McDonald's has brought an apple fritter, blueberry muffin, and cinnamon roll to their permanent menu. Not only are they adding to their breakfast menu, this would be the first time in over eight years that the fast-food giant adds baked goods to their roster. And just like some other favorite breakfast items, the McCafe bakery is available all day.
McDonald's sales have been under pressure since the pandemic disrupted their usual breakfast sales, with their morning meal transactions falling about 18% in June from the same time in 2019. While their lunch and dinner sales recovered much more quickly, getting customers out of bed in the morning when they didn't have to be was about as difficult as anyone would expect. McDonald's hopes its breakfast moves, coupled with slowly bringing back their menu promotions and special promotions revolving around celebrities favorite orders, will bring back their breakfast customers
Meanwhile, Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN) released their new breakfast items about two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down, leaving the company to wonder how it would affect their breakfast sales. With a stroke of luck and customer loyalty, Wendy's didn't suffer too badly, Everyone, including Wendy's, worried that they would flop thanks to the pandemic, but instead the new items bolstered their bottom line during quarantine. Wendy's breakfast menu now accounts for 8% of their sales, a figure the company would like to see rise to 10% by the end of the year. According to a quote from CNN, Wendy's attributed their success to customers looking to try something new that was fun when every day at home was starting to blur together.
Wendy's is looking to see their breakfast sales grow to 50% of their total sales. They've started by upping their advertising to TV commercials and plan to invest up to $15 million in breakfast marketing. Wendy's is hoping by advertising tempting depictions of their Frosty-ccino and offering a Wendy's Rewards loyalty program, they'll achieve their goal.