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Wendy's Is Introducing Uber-Style 'Surge Pricing'
(www.foodandwine.com)
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this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2024
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Raise prices at peak times? ✅💰
Lower prices ever? ❌📈
Properly done dynamic pricing rewards customers with cheap prices for going at off-peak times, and the opposite on-peak. However this other form of "surge pricing" is really just price gouging under another label
It's not like Wendy's exists on an island, there are replacement products, and usually extremely close by. It will start to become a function of the value of people's time, stand in a short line to pay exorbitant costs at Wendy's or stand in a long line to pay cheaper at Burgerking or whatever. (Honestly I don't know why these places are frequented at all when you can usually find a pub burger that's way higher quality for the same price or cheaper)
Because in that scenario you need to think about where to eat, and you need to wait a few minutes for the burger. People go to fast food places because they immediately recognize the logos and know they can eat there without having to think about it, and they'll happily pay more money for a worse product if they can get it right now without having to leave their car. And they'll happily pay this higher price for the same reason. And they'll view the normal price as being the "cheaper" price and probably go more often during the off-peak hours to "save money" as well. It's a win-win-win for Wendy's.
America has been emphasizing convenience over all else for decades for this exact reason. It's cheaper and more lucrative for a company to provide a quick, easy product than a better quality one, so they just shoved advertisements into our faces until we were collectively convinced that that's what we want, too.
There's also the large long-distance traveler market which they have sewn up. You could bring two days' worth of meals with you or you could stop at the Wendy's at the next interstate exit and not have to bother with that.
All fast food chains are shitting the bed recently. I'm in Canada and took my wife and daughter to burger king, $60 with tax for 3 fucking meals and a couple of turnovers. I remember the days when I would go to McDonald's with $5 and that was enough to get a big Mac meal, now it barely buys you a coffee
Basically how the economy works for the 99%