Restaurants, especially quick-service ones, are nipping at the heels of grocery stores when it comes to the best bargain for a meal.
According to U.S. Labor Department statistics, prices at grocery stores in July were 13% higher than in July 2021, but at restaurants, only 7.6% – the biggest such gap since the 1970s. Executives from chains like McDonald’s and Applebee’s are saying in presentations that they intend to play up the value angle, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
A survey of ads for the top restaurant chains showed that 58% of them highlighted deals, prices or rewards from May through early August, compared with 46% from January through April.
Some grocers and food processors are fighting back with value-oriented tactics of their own. Albertsons Cos. intends to offer more prepared meals at its stores, and Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio told the Journal: “What we had never done before is communicate the value of our product. We are doing that now.”
