Nearly 80% of Americans now consider fast food a “luxury” due to high prices

Has a drive-in trip become an extravagance? The vast majority of Americans say so.

A recent non-probability survey conducted by LendingTree found that 78% of consumers now view fast food as a “luxury” purchase due to the high price of meals.

Half of those surveyed said they view fast food as a luxury due to financial difficulties. This is especially true among Americans who earn less than $30,000 per year (71%), parents of young children (58%), and Generation Z (58%).

Americans love their fast food, but a majority say they are cutting back on their consumption due to high prices. The results show that 3 in 4 Americans typically eat fast food once a week, but 62% of those surveyed said they eat it less frequently due to cost.

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Sixty-three percent of respondents agree that fast food should be cheaper than eating at home, but 75 percent say this is not the case. Nearly half of Americans (46%) say a meal at a fast food restaurant costs about the same as a meal at their local service restaurant, and 22% say fast food is actually more dear.

Fast food price increases have outpaced inflation in recent years. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows the cost of fast food meals increased 41% from 2017, while the Consumer Price Index increased 35.9%.

Columnist Dan O’Donnell of the free-market think tank MacIver Institute wrote in a blog post Thursday that “prices of staples like McDonald’s cheeseburgers and Chick-fil-A nuggets have risen by as much as 200 % in less than five years with disastrous consequences for the lower and middle class families who make up a large part of the fast food customer base. »

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“Fast food customers are typically low-income earners – many of whom have young children – who rely on a quick, affordable meal before football practice or a band concert,” O’Donnell wrote. “When prices at these restaurants jump from $35 to $40 for a family meal to $65 to $70 in just a few years, these families have to either sacrifice an evening or stretch out a little further to afford it.”

In the LendingTree survey, when asked about their preference for an easy, inexpensive meal, 56% of respondents said they prepared food at home. And that’s exactly what more and more people are doing.

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Global restaurant chains such as McDonald’s and Starbucks have seen low-income customers choosing to eat more meals at home amid a cost of living crisis, which has prompted companies to offer bigger promotions to try to attract customers.

This week, Wendy’s launched a $3 value breakfast, and McDonald’s is planning a $5 meal combo in June. Both offers will be for a limited time.