Yahoo Finance McDonald's charges different prices depending which store you're in. Here's why
When every cent counts, it pays to shop around.
An Aussie McDonald's customer has highlighted a blink-or-you'll-miss-it discrepancy in the fast-food chain's pricing structure.
The woman, who posted side-by-side screenshots of the same order of a Bacon & Egg McMuffin from two Macca's branches five kilometres apart, asked fellow customers if they knew there could be price differences for the same order, depending on the restaurant.
"Did anyone else know that Macca's makes items more expensive with location? I thought it was pretty standard cost for each location but maybe not," the woman said in her post, revealing the 50-cent price difference between two McDonald's restaurants in Western Sydney for the exact same order.
The observation came as a shock to many, who thought prices only varied at airport outlets or during peak hours. However, some were familiar with the pricing anomaly, saying discrepancies on a single item could range from 40c to as much as 80c.
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Some customers noted that price discrepancies were quite common in many businesses. "It's not just Macca's. Hungry Jack's is the same," one astute consumer said. "They probably all do it. Just like supermarkets and petrol, etc, location changes everything."
How McDonald's sets prices
What some Macca's customers might not know is that as much as 85 per cent of the chain's 1,000 branches in Australia are owned and operated by franchisees, making it one of the biggest restaurant franchises in the country.
"As individual businesses, McDonald's prices are set at a restaurant level," the fast-food giant previously told Yahoo Finance, clarifying that many factors were considered when setting the price of menu items.
"Like all businesses, we review our prices from time to time, considering several factors, including the higher-cost environment we're operating in," a spokesperson said.
McDonald's also explains this on its website: "McDonald's prices vary depending on every restaurant's set of unique characteristics. Trading hours, customer-traffic patterns, and particular product demand can all have an impact on price, as well as factors such as drive-thru, McCafé, and 24-hour trading services."
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