Burger King ups ante on Wendy's
Fast-food giants battling it out for market share is par for the course. From using generative AI to create fans' wackiest Whoppers to new product launches like KFC's Chizza (a fried chicken pizza, naturally), quick-service chains excel at one-upmanship — a raising of the stakes of Double Down absurdity until it's hard to tell what's a joke and what's for real.
Wendy's flip-flopped on a “dynamic pricing” announcement this week, saying its plans were “misconstrued” — but not before Burger King capitalized on it by giving a free Whopper or plant-based Impossible Whopper to American customers who spent $3 or more ordering ahead on its mobile app or website from Feb. 28 to March 1.
“We don't believe in charging guests more when they're hungry,” Burger King wrote in a press release announcing its “no urge to surge” offer. “The only thing surging at BK is our flame.”
On a Feb. 15 earnings call, Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner said the company will begin testing “more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling,” Scripps News reports.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren weighed in, posting on X: “It's price gouging plain and simple, and American families have had enough.”
Dynamic pricing, or surge pricing, is when a company takes a flexible approach to prices, changing the cost based on demand. Rideshare companies such as Lyft and Uber popularized the model, where prices could increase during periods of heavy traffic or bad weather. Airlines, hotels and ticketing services such as Ticketmaster have adopted the practice.
IT'S PRICE GOUGING PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
After accusations of “price gouging by any other name” and “corporate greed,” Wendy's released a statement Tuesday saying the announcement “was misconstrued” as a means of hiking prices when demand is highest. “We have no plans to do that and would not raise prices when our customers are visiting us most.”
Instead, Wendy's said digital displays, which it plans to roll out as early as 2025, will give its restaurants more control over menu items. “Any features we may test in the future would be designed to benefit our customers and restaurant crew members. Digital menu boards could allow us to change the menu offerings at different times of day and offer discounts and value offers to our customers more easily, particularly in the slower times of day.”
Surge pricing or no surge pricing, one thing's for sure: Burger King wins this round.