Wendy’s will start experimenting with surge pricing in 2025, along the lines of Uber and Lyft. Wendy’s will test “dynamic pricing” on burgers, Frosties, and other menu items, which will cost more during times of increased demand. The practice, “dynamic pricing,” will begin testing in 2025, Wendy’s recently revealed in an earnings call. It’s part of a $20 million investment in new digital menu boards at its US restaurants that enable them to change prices depending on demand.
Few details were released about the change, but Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said the new menus will let the fast-food chain test “more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and day-part offerings along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling.” “We expect our digital menu boards will drive immediate benefits to order accuracy, improve crew experience and sales growth from upselling and consistent merchandising execution,” Tanner said on the call.
It’s unclear whether the dynamic pricing model would allow costs to dip below the current, static prices if demand was low at a particular time, or if there would be a floor. It’s also unclear if there would be a cap on the surge pricing for food items (ride-hailing apps tend to not have a cap).
Do you think this will lead to backlash from consumers??
