Global sales for McDonalds’s restaurants have increased in the past two months, on a worldwide level, mainly thanks to performance in the Asia-Pacific regions, as well as the Middle East and Europe, while those in North America have remained flat and even declined, on a monthly basis.
In April, global comparable sales increased by 1,2%, especially helped by the APMEA regions, where sales went up 2,9%, while Europe peaked by 0,3%, compared to the U.S, whose sales remained flat.
“We are strengthening our business plans by emphasizing customer-driven strategies,” said McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson. “We remain focused on delivering an outstanding restaurant experience by serving our customers their favorite McDonald’s food and drinks and offering compelling value, choice and convenience to create easy, memorable experiences.”
The overall North American fast-food industry remained a challenging one, this impacted on the quick-service chain’s financial performance, with the company opting to focus more on quality of service and food, in order to try and attract a larger consumer base. During the month of april, the U.S. featured McDonald’s popular breakfast options complemented by a McCafé coffee promotion and introduced a new premium sandwich, the Bacon Clubhouse. This strategy, however, did not bear fruit, seeing how in May, sales in the North American territory decreased by 1%, despite the company’s efforts reflected in the promotion of Dollar Menu & More offerings and breakfast including a focus on McDonald’s popular McCafé coffee.
Europe’s restaurants continued to record a slight rise in sales, by 0,4%, especially because of a positive performance in the U.K and France, two of the larger markets in the region, which managed to somewhat offset negative results recorded in Germany. Unique affordability options, premium menu choices and expansion of the segment’s beverage business supported the month’s results, according to a financial statement issued by McDonald’s. The APMEA region was by far the best performer financially, both in April and May. Comparable sales in APMEA increased 2.9% in April. Strong results in China, including comparison against the prior year impact from Avian influenza, and positive results in Australia and many other markets were partially offset by ongoing weakness in Japan. Convenience initiatives, enhanced value offerings and McDonald’s menu variety contributed to the segment’s monthly performance. In May, APMEA’s comparable sales increased 2.5% reflecting again those strong results in China.
Packaging redesign
It isn’t the first time that the fast-food giant associates itself with important sporting events, and this year’s ongoing FIFA World Cup is no different. For the occasion, McDonald’s has decided to completely revamp the packaging of its iconic red French fry packaging, which will completely change its look, to feature with bold, new artwork to celebrate the ongoing FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil. In addition, the new fry boxes will be the key to “unlocking” a new Augmented Reality (AR) app that will reward customers with an engaging, virtual trick-shot challenge.
“This is the first time in brand history we’re changing the packaging design of one of our customers’ most favorite menu items on a global scale, and what better reason than to share in the excitement of one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world,” said Steve Easterbrook, Senior Executive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer of McDonald’s. “This is about bringing fun, innovative programming to our customers and celebrating our shared love of futbol. We’re excited to be able to do that through an engaging, interactive mobile experience, and of course with our World-Famous Fries.”
Furthermore, by using their mobile devices, clients of the quick-service chain will be able to download an application which will self-play on their screens and contain an augmented reality futbol pitch, with the fry box as the goal and other objects as obstacles. Thus, consumers will have to kick the ball using their fingers, in order to score a goal. The mini-game app was created for McDonald’s by Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. and Trigger and showcases the Vuforia platform’s new cutting-edge Smart Terrain™ feature, representing a technology breakthrough that allows users to build their own play spaces using everyday objects.
“Our digital vision at McDonald’s is to bring an entirely new level of everyday convenience and fun to the world, and our Augmented Reality app is just one example of how we are bringing fun to our customers’ lives,” said Atif Rafiq, McDonald’s Chief Digital Officer.“McDonald’s GOL!” will be compatible with most Android and Apple mobile devices and is already available for download in the Google Play store and Apple App Store™. The new fry boxes will be available throughout the duration of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
E-books instead of toys
The exploration of high tech offers to attract the younger generation is on the priority list for McDonalds, seeing how recently, it partnered with Kobo Inc., one of the world’s fastest-growing eReading services offering more than 4-million eBooks and magazines to millions of customers in 190 countries, to provide all clients who purchase happy meals in the U.S. and the U.K. with e-books, instead of the classic toys everyone has been used to. As part of the promotion, each Happy Meal box features an e-book voucher enabling parents to download a free children’s e-book compatible with a wide range of electronic devices and operating systems. Alistair Macrow, senior vice president, chief marketing officer, McDonald’s UK said:
“Kids today have come to know and expect content in digital form and introducing free e-books to the Happy Meal is another way in which we’re creating choice and keeping in step with our customers. As a customer-led business, it’s essential that we’re always listening to what our customers want and providing them with experiences and added-value features that fit with their lifestyles. “Since leading the charge with free wifi in 2007, we’ve introduced a number of digital innovations to enhance our customers’ experience including the
McDonald’s UK app, contactless payment as well as tablets and digital floor play in restaurants. Our free e-books are the latest way for us to deliver a fun, enriched experience for our customers at no extra cost to them.