FOX Business’ Brian Bremberg looks at rising fast food prices under President Biden.
Has drive-thru shopping become a luxury? A majority of Americans think so.
Recent Research Implemented by LendingTree The survey found that meals have become so expensive that 78% of consumers consider fast food a “luxury” purchase.
This photo shows In-N-Out Burger from last month. (Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Half of those surveyed said they are struggling financially and therefore consider fast food a luxury, especially among Americans making less than $30,000 a year (71%), parents with young children (58%), and Gen Z (58%).
Americans love fast food, but many say they are cutting back on their consumption due to rising prices. According to the survey, three in four Americans eat fast food at least once a week, but 62% of respondents said they are eating it less frequently because of the high price.
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While 63% of those surveyed agreed that fast food should be cheaper than eating at home, 75% said it’s not. Nearly half of Americans (46%) say a meal at a fast food restaurant costs about the same as a meal at a local sit-down restaurant, while 22% say fast food is actually more expensive.
Surveys have revealed that Americans think fast food is too expensive. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Fast food price increases have outpaced inflation in recent years: The price of a fast food meal is up 41% since 2017, while the Consumer Price Index is up 35.9%, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Dan O’Donnell, columnist for the free market think tank McIver Institute “The prices of basic items like a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Chick-fil-A nuggets have increased by 200 percent in less than five years, with devastating effects on low- and middle-class families who make up the majority of fast food customers,” they wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
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“Fast food patrons are typically low-income people, many with young children, looking for a quick, affordable meal before soccer practice or a band concert,” O’Donnell writes. “When prices at these restaurants rise from $35-40 to $65-70 for a family meal in just a few years, these families are forced to either give up eating out or pay a little more to do so.”
A family says a prayer before eating lunch at their home in Fruita, Colorado, on April 28, 2024. (Kelsey Brunner/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
When asked about their easy, inexpensive meal staples, 56% of respondents in a LendingTree survey cited cooking meals at home. And more and more people are doing just that.
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Global restaurant chains such as McDonald’s and Starbucks attract low-income customers. Eat at home more often As the cost of living continues to rise, businesses are running even bigger promotions to lure customers back.
This week, Wendy’s launched a $3 budget breakfast menu item, and McDonald’s is introducing a $5 combo menu item in June, both of which will be available for a limited time only.
