Restaurant companies are intensifying their marketing efforts this summer as they look to break out of an early-year traffic slump.
Burger King on Wednesday revealed a handful of deals it plans to offer in June, starting with a free Whopper with a $3 purchase for members of its Royal Perks loyalty program on Sunday, which will be the Miami-based chain’s 71st birthday.
The fast-food chain plans a host of other offers, largely geared at loyalty members, including buy-one Impossible Whopper, get one free (BOGO) all month. The chain will have other offers during the month for National Cheese Day, June 4, (free mozzarella fries with $1 purchase), a BOGO Whopper on Father’s Day and free Onion Rings on National Onion Ring Day, June 22.
It's hardly the only chain taking such a step.
Wendy’s has already kicked off 100 Days of Savings, a summerlong promotion that started on Wednesday with an offer for a 1-cent Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger with a purchase, to mark National Hamburger Day. The effort will feature deals, mostly through the app, along with product partnerships akin to the chain’s successful Thin Mints Frosty back in February.
Kirk Tanner, the company’s CEO, told analysts earlier this month that the campaign is in response to “changing consumer behavior.”
“We have every right to win the consumer, win in the marketplace, feel really good about our 100 Days of [Savings] program, and I think it reflects the balanced approach of getting after the customer and solving consumer issues and opportunities,” Tanner said.
It’s not just value. McDonald’s, for instance, is extending operating hours this summer and has launched a hiring campaign to provide franchisees with enough staff to do so.
A big reason for all this is weak traffic. Sales at quick-service chains grew just 2.3% in 2024, according to Top 1,500 data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. Among fast-food burger chains, growth was just 1.3%. Both numbers were well below 4% menu price inflation.
That difficulty continued into 2025, when the bulk of quick-service chains reported weak results overall. Same-store sales at McDonald’s declined 3.6%, the company’s worst performance since the pandemic.
At Wendy’s, same-store sales fell 2.8%. At Burger King they declined 1.1%. The median publicly traded chain reported a 1% same-store sales decline in the first three months of the year. And many chains, not just the big fast-food concepts, are turning to more marketing and value to lure customers reluctant to spend more at restaurants.
“The consumer certainly is under pressure,” Tanner said. “We thought it was prudent to plan if the consumer is under pressure for the full year.”
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