Got some loose change? McDonald’s is offering $0.50 cent double cheeseburgers for one day only, in honor of National Cheeseburger Day. <\/p>\n
The Chicago-based burger chain announced the 50-cent double cheeseburger deal is available Wednesday, Sept. 18, in honor of the holiday. According to McDonald’s the deal can only be accessed by using the McDonald’s app, at participating locations. <\/p>\n
It can only be redeemed once per customer, and app registration is required, McDonald’s said. <\/p>\n
The one-day offer is part of several other fall the company says it is running as McDonald’s continues an effort to win back customers, including an $8 Big Mac Meal, a $5 Sausage Egg McMuffin Meal, and a slew of other Extra Value Meals for under $10. <\/p>\n
“From the\u00a0$5\u00a0Meal Deal<\/a>\u00a0to McValue and now Extra Value Meals, we’re sending a clear message: we’re here for our customers,” Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, said in a release, announcing the deals “McDonald’s will always be a place where you can get the food you love at a price that fits your life.”<\/p>\n McDonald\u2019s for years has seen a\u00a0steady decline<\/a>\u00a0in visits from customers in the U.S. who have household incomes of less than $45,000 per year. CEO Chris Kempczinski said those consumers, and others, no longer see McDonald\u2019s as a good value.<\/p>\n At a McDonald\u2019s near the company\u2019s Chicago headquarters, for example, a 10-piece Chicken McNugget meal costs $10.39.<\/p>\n Higher prices have been been a drag on sales. McDonald\u2019s same-store sales \u2013 or sales at stores open at least a year \u2013 grew 2.5% in the\u00a0April-June period<\/a>, but that was mostly because of higher prices. Fast food visits by lower-income consumers dropped by double-digit percentages industrywide in the second quarter, McDonald\u2019s said.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, too often, if you\u2019re that consumer, you\u2019re driving up to the restaurant and you\u2019re seeing combo meals priced over $10,\u201d Kempczinski said during a conference call with investors in August. \u201cThat absolutely is shaping value perceptions in a negative way. So we\u2019ve got to get that fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n The company also blames higher costs. The average price of its menu items rose 40% between 2019 and 2024, McDonald\u2019s said, to account for a 40% increase in the cost of labor, packaging and food.<\/p>\n But within a month, McDonald\u2019s introduced a\u00a0$5 Meal Deal<\/a>, which combined a McDouble burger or a McChicken sandwich with small fries and a small drink. That deal proved so popular it was extended through this summer.<\/p>\n