Grimacing
McDonald’s investors were lovin’ it yesterday, after the company posted earnings that beat estimates across the board. The fast food giant reported Q2 net income of $2.3 billion, up 94% on last year, as well as global same-store sales that rose 11.7%.
The company partially credited “culturally relevant brand and marketing campaigns” — like its Grimace promotion that was an absurdist breakout hit with Gen Z on TikTok — for the increased sales figures. For McDonald’s, it seems that success in the online sphere is becoming as much a part of the business as flipping burgers and serving fries.
Appy meals
Indeed, the golden arches have perhaps never loomed larger in the digital landscape. Digital sales across the whole McDonald’s system (including franchised stores) exceeded $8 billion in the latest quarter, up 33% on the 2022 figure. That’s due in no small part to the mega success of the McDonald’s app, which was downloaded a staggering 127 million times worldwide last year — more than double the downloads that Uber Eats, the second most downloaded food & drink app, notched.
And the app, where users can score exclusive deals and build up loyalty points, is only extending its lead over competitors. According to Apptopia figures cited by the Wall Street Journal, the McDonald’s app had 18% more monthly active users in Q2 than it did last year. That's an impressive figure for an app that launched 8 years ago, but its even more striking when compared to the churn rate for major fast food competitors, like the Burger King and Wendy's apps, which have seen users and downloads tumble in the last year.
