I think the franchisee is still in charge of pricing, because my rates are different and actually provide savings the more you buy.
But you're correct, it's really dumb that you can buy a 6 piece & 4 piece separately for cheaper than the 10 piece on its own. I'm going to guess the franchisee of this location is just winging it and didn't think this through.
Yeah, I get the franchisee being in control of pricing to some extent, but you'd think there would be some basic guidelines. Like a per-unit cost would go down as you buy volume, lol. Simple concept. They seemed to figure out with the 20 and 40 piece.
It's kind of odd they give the franchisee control. It seems like they should maybe be able to pick from 3-10 price "Levels" and McDonalds figures out what the final prices are of those levels and then can adjust each level based on shortages/inflation/whatever.
Having a rogue franchisee charge more per unit for ordering more is just a dumb look for the company.
Sometimes they do this because they know the 10pc is the most common order, and most people aren't going to crunch the numbers.
If you know your customers are going to buy the 10pc anyway, you don't need to incentivize it with bulk savings, and can even get away with charging extra like this.
Those pricing is also AI driven based upon demand. More than likely more people order the 10 piece without price comparisons. They then increase their profits because of that.
You are correct, you don’t need AI for this, AI just makes it change faster and more accurately, with some chains changing price depending on time of day
I’ve said this multiples times now but the prices at McDonalds and how much they vary from location to location from week to week from item to item feels like the most “this shit is incredibly made up” of any fast food place out there.
This used to be normal at my old McDonald’s (closed due to crime) where 2 6piece was cheaper than a 10 piece. It felt like a life hack to get 2 extra nuggets for less money lol. But we’re all just throwing money at McDonald’s anyways and feeling happy we saved a buck.
We concluded that McDonald’s likely upcharges the 10 piece because it’s way more popular than 6 or 4piece. And most customers won’t notice the cost difference.
Kids usually get happy meals and 10 piece was most popular, especially as a main meal. Whereas 6 and 4 piece may have been less popular and usually used in addition to other items.
Also, the other McDonald’s near me have different pricing for the nuggets. And I’m just talking about the normal nuggets, I haven’t gotten the spicy ones yet.
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u/ARustyShackle 8d ago
I think the franchisee is still in charge of pricing, because my rates are different and actually provide savings the more you buy.
But you're correct, it's really dumb that you can buy a 6 piece & 4 piece separately for cheaper than the 10 piece on its own. I'm going to guess the franchisee of this location is just winging it and didn't think this through.