The Reason Your McDonald's Menu May Look Shorter Than Usual

If you've noticed that the menu at your local McDonald's has fewer options than usual, you're not wrong. Over 10 years ago, most McDonald's switched from static menu boards to digital menus that can be changed throughout the day. These boards don't just rotate through the same items. They can be updated in real time to reflect a dynamic menu, which may result in a visually shorter menu.

Mike Haracz, a former McDonald's corporate chef known for insider tips, like why you should never order a Big Mac, explained on TikTok how McDonald's makes use of a dynamic menu and pricing. These digital menus allow McDonald's to adjust its menu "based on trends, based on the weather, based on events," he said. If something is driving customers to McDonald's or keeping them away, the menu can be changed to reflect that. That might mean pushing a certain combo, or featuring promotional deals like a two-for-one offer. McDonald's can do this in conjunction with its app to give discounts. 

In 2019, McDonald's acquired a company called Dynamic Yield. The stated goal at that time was to personalize the customer experience by "varying outdoor digital drive-thru menu displays to show food based on time of day, weather, current restaurant traffic, and trending menu items." So, if you want extra crispy McNuggets but the menu only shows Big Macs and Quarter Pounders, it's not because they disappeared; the menu is just not listing the full range of products, but the store probably still offers them. Your McDonald's is simply trying to push those other featured items. The reasons for that can vary, but as Haracz pointed out, it could be that those items are more profitable or McDonald's believed they would entice customers to buy.

McDonald's didn't use the term "dynamic pricing" when it implemented Dynamic Yield's technology, but Wendy's did. In 2024, Wendy's CEO said the chain planned to use dynamic pricing, leading to backlash from customers who thought it meant prices would rise at certain times of day when demand was highest.

In actuality, it's not about raising prices but lowering them. Those two-for-one discounts and other deals McDonald's offers from time to time are how dynamic pricing works. The normal prices are always at their highest. Dynamic pricing lowers the cost through deals to draw in customers. The menus are limited to reflect the deals and whatever other items that location wants featured.

Data from Stream shows that dynamic menus increase sales, with featured items increasing by as much as 25% and combo upselling by up to 31%. At McDonald's specifically, dynamic menus were cited as the reason for a 6.1% increase in same-store sales.

The next time you're at McDonald's and see a featured deal, it's just what that specific location is trying to promote at that moment. If it seems like a good deal to you, then great. Otherwise, just ask if they have what you're looking for, be it a Filet-O-Fish or something else, even if it's not on the menu. It's probably still available.