If I own a McDonalds, my demand is as high as pre-COVID and perhaps a little higher, as perhaps some people got out of the habit of eating in a restaurant. My prices increased when demand was down, but with demand back up and my business being sort of an institution (people are going to McDonald as long as it stays consistent), why the hell would I lower my prices?
To its credit, they came out with a $5 meal, but it's less to ease costs to customers and more to compete with other fast-food places' low-dollar meals.
Paragraph #1: If I'm McDonalds nothing I ever do will reduce my sales volume, so I can basically set whatever prices I want and the public is forced to pay it. What are they gonna do, not eat at McDonalds? Ha! That'll never happen.
Paragraph #2: If I'm McDonalds, I have to price my product competitively with other fast food chains or I'll lose business to them.
You literally undercut your own argument all by yourself.
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I know how you feel about anecdotal evidence, but I'm an example of someone who has stopped eating fast food except when I absolutely have to--with the exception of In n Out which I eat maybe 4 times a year--due to the insane prices, and not feeling like I get value out of it. Now, I'm not exactly the most target demographic for most fast food places, but I'm going to guess that I'm not the ONLY person who has changed my behavior due to the prices.
Businesses have to compete. Sometimes a business like McDonalds isn't just competing with BK and Wendy's and Taco Bell. For someone like me, they have to compete with eating at home or with mixing up to more fast-casual or full service restaurants. If McDonalds gets too expensive, I am part of the demographic that will skip McDonalds
for a more expensive dining option, but one which I think offers more value.