McDonald's may consider $5 value meal as food prices continue to soar

McDonald's could soon be lowering prices and possibly launching a new value meal to its menus.

The Golden Arches currently offer some individual items on its $1, $2, $3 menu, but it may be rolling out a new value meal with a McChicken or McDouble, fries and a drink for just $5, as Bloomberg first reported.

Knowing that consumers have grown tired of sticker shock on food, Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said McDonald's would look to be "laser-focused on affordability." He was speaking on the company's first quarter earnings call late last month, after profits fell short of expectations.

People fed up with soaring prices have taken to social media to sound off about how much they're paying for fast food.

Colleen Pipes, whose video went viral after she spent $14 on a fast food order, told ABC News, "I joked that this was fine dining now, because I might as well go at a sit-down restaurant and be served [to] pay those type of prices."

In March, fast-food prices were 33% higher compared to 2019, according to the Department of Labor, while grocery prices were up 26%.

Companies like Starbucks reported a slow in sales with a 7% drop in transactions at the Seattle-based coffee chain.

Starbucks told ABC News that some price increases at their stores has been a result of customers opting in for customizations on drinks, which can bump up the price.

Consumer behavior is also changing outside restaurants, while shoppers like Lorin Augeri of Tampa, Florida scour to score the best prices on groceries by going to multiple stores.

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"I've learned how to map out where those things are going to be less expensive, or which stores have the items that me and my family enjoy eating," she told ABC News.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the price of beef is predicted to increase 3.3% in 2024, with eggs up 4.8% and sugar and sweets up 4.3% this year.

Professor Roger Beahm, who teaches marketing at Wake Forest University School of Business, told ABC News that much has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Before the pandemic consumers tended to shop primarily at one grocery store -- the pandemic was very disruptive," he said. "Consumers couldn't get a lot of the products that they wanted at one particular store. So they actually started shopping in more retail grocery stores."

Consumers like Pipes are begging fast food chains and grocery stores to do something about it.

"Please lower your prices so you can't go up any further," she said.

While McDonald's has not yet officially confirmed the new value meal, the company has long stated and reiterated that prices vary by location due to individual franchisee decisions.

Competitors like Burger King offer a $5 value meal, as does Wendy's, who recently announced a new 6-piece chicken nuggets for free on Wednesdays with any mobile app purchase for rewards members.