Kids These Days Are "Too Cool" for McDonald's
For food-like dining chain McDonald's, young people—who have not yet had time to develop a discriminating palate—have always been their "bread and butter." No longer. What's wrong, millennials? Have you lost your bad taste?
McDonald's is in a rut. Sales are flat. The stock price is stuck. What is the problem, grotesque Americans? McDonald's is still serving their good old-fashioned "secret sauce" consisting of mayonnaise and chicken grease, on a bread-like bun. Where are the crowds? According to research by the Wall Street Journal, image-obsessed members of the "millennial" generation are now "too cool" to frequent "fuddy-duddy" old "McD's" no matter how many celebrity-laden "art parties" the company throws, preferring instead the "hip" environs of "fast casual" chains such as Chipotle, where the ingredients are "organic," the food is "not frozen," and the crowd is full of "hip" young "slam poets" all too willing to "grind" with any fellow "cisgender" if the "molly" is up to par.
Increasingly, younger diners are seeking out fresher, healthier food and chains that offer customizable menu options for little more than the price of a combo meal.
The percentage of people age 19 to 21 in the U.S. who visited McDonald's monthly has fallen by 12.9 percentage points since the beginning of 2011, according to Technomic, while the percentage of customers age 22 to 37 visiting monthly during that period has been flat.
Damn a Big Mac meal costs more than a Chipotle burrito now. Damn. No wonder.
