McDonald’s may have a winner on its hands with the Snack Wrap, at least based on the early returns.
Data from the retail traffic tracking firm Placer.ai suggests a big boost in visits to McDonald’s restaurants in the days after the product was introduced last week.
Visits to McDonald’s on July 10, the day the Snack Wrap was launched, were 15% higher than the daily average so far this year, according to Placer.ai. They were up 22.3% on July 11 and 16.1% on July 12.
“Consumers responded favorably to the return of the Snack Wrap,” R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research with Placer.ai, said in a statement. “This trend is even more impressive considering the launch is lapping last year’s popular $5 Meal Deal promotion.”
Social media reports also suggest the product is popular. Wolfe Research analyst Greg Badishkanian compiled comments from various social media channels suggesting some restaurants are running out of ingredients with which to make the product.
Some operators have suggested to us privately that the product sold well upon its introduction last week.
This must be welcome news for the Chicago-based fast-food giant. The company has struggled with a stubbornly persistent sales slump, its worst in a decade, brought about by consumer frustration over prices and an E. coli outbreak late last year.
McDonald’s had the Snack Wrap on its menu for years but removed it in 2016—after the last such slump—in part to make way for an expansion of All Day Breakfast. Customers have been pushing for its return ever since, a reaction similar to the one that led Taco Bell to bring back its Mexican Pizza.
The company largely resisted those calls until recently. But the introduction of McCrispy Strips last month provided McDonald’s with the base with which it makes the wrap product. The Snack Wrap is priced at $2.99.
Social media has helped fans of certain menu items band together to push for their return, and companies in recent years have been giving them what they want, which has helped fuel sales. Taco Bell, for instance, generated strong sales after the return of that Mexican Pizza.
McDonald’s, which has been broadcasting the Snack Wrap’s return since late last year, is hoping for a similar result. The Placer.ai data and social media reports suggest that may be happening.
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