McDonald’s plans to step up deals and marketing to combat slower fast food traffic [Video]

McDonald’s plans to step up deals and value messaging to combat slowing sales.

The Chicago burger giant said inflation-weary customers are eating out less often in many big markets. In the first quarter, fast food traffic was flat or down in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany.

“The consumer is certainly being very discriminating in how they spend their dollar,” McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said Tuesday during a conference call with investors. “It may be more pronounced with lower-income consumers, but its important to recognize that all income cohorts are seeking value.”

McDonald’s said its same-store sales – or sales at stores open at least a year — rose 1.9% worldwide in the January-March period. That was below Wall Street’s forecast of a 2.1% increase, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

McDonald’s had warned investorsthat the exceptional post-pandemic growth it saw would likely slow this year. Still, the same-store sales increases the company posted in the first quarter …