Wendy’s has announced plans to test a surge-pricing model in which menu prices will fluctuate throughout the day based on demand.
“Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling,” the fast food company’s CEO, Kirk Tanner, said Tuesday.
Surge pricing, also known as dynamic pricing, is a business strategy already used by rideshare companies, which charge more for services provided during busier times of day.
Wendy’s Co. also intends to spend $20 million on digital menu boards at all of its U.S. company-run restaurants by 2026, according to The Associated Press. The Pretzel Baconator maker plans to spend another $10 million doing so globally.
The Ohio-based company has roughly 7,000 chains and franchises worldwide.
In 2023, CNET reported that the average meal at Wendy’s cost $6.63, making the burger chain the nation’s most expensive fast food joint.
But that isn’t to say deals can’t be found within Dave Thomas’ 54-year-old restaurant family.
Wendy’s sold Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers for a penny in September to customers who purchased a second menu item. A promotion in April 2023 offered free goods to astrology-conscious app users while Mercury was in retrograde. And that same month, Wendy’s announced its popular “savory all-natural beef” chili would be sold in grocery stores.
Wendy’s has not responded to a request for comment.
With News Wire Services
