Wendy’s recently met a massive public outcry from consumers after indicating it would experiment with dynamic pricing.
Ultimately, Wendy’s denied the idea that it would ever participate in surge pricing, i.e. that it would use dynamic pricing to increase prices during times of high demand. But Wendy’s use of the phrase “dynamic pricing” at all certainly implied a planned foray into Uber-like pricing systems where prices can suddenly leap.
A recent report from restaurant technology provider Qu indicates this is only the beginning. Wendy’s may have been the first to put fast food surge pricing onto the public’s radar. But it seems like many other brands and restaurants are also eyeing a shift to dynamic prices.
Who would have thought that good old ink on paper was preventing us from experiencing this much stress? It seems obvious now.
But we guess we never thought much about how a difficult-to-change menu… Well, it prevents things from shifting on a whim. But that appears to be a thing of the past. In its 5th “Annual State of Digital Report,” Qu highlighted some 2024 trends in Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) and Fast Casual brands that relate to the advent of surge pricing in the fast food industry.
It is important to note that the report gathered data from 179 brands across 62,000 locations. It can be found in full here.
