Value menus are the rare bright spot in an otherwise sluggish year for the restaurant industry. Traffic related to value menus rose 1% YoY in Q2, per Circana. Overall restaurant traffic fell by 1% YoY in the same period, indicating that meal deals are getting diners to open their wallets. But as restaurants have also discovered, meal deals alone aren’t enough to get customers through the door. Instead, operators need to excite would-be diners about what they’re offering—whether by emphasizing the scale of their discounts, product or service quality, or the temporary nature of offers.

Clucking strong in a soft market: Chicken-focused restaurants are drawing more visits than other fast-casual chains with a winning formula of value, variety, and innovation.

AI-generated fake KFC ad emphasizes consumers’ AI concerns: The reaction underscores lingering fears over AI’s ethical implications.

In-store, consumers want experiences that engage their senses, while online, they’re interested in generative AI (genAI) tools that can help them research products. Plus, young men in the South lead in fast-food consumption, retail leaders lean on loyalty to boost growth, and holiday spending remained in check (for the most part).

QSRs resume the value wars in 2025: McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s are among the many fast-food chains leaning on deals to drive traffic.

In November, retailers made strategic moves across grocery, apparel, and beauty. Amazon turned Black Friday into a weeklong event and launched its Shein competitor, Haul. Meanwhile, e.l.f. Beauty strengthened its value proposition through a new Dollar General partnership, while Kroger announced plans for specialized Asian experience stores in North Texas. Here are our eight unofficial picks for the most interesting retailers in November.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of November. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Analyst Arielle Feger and Senior Analyst Sara Lebow will defend their list against Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

McDonald’s will focus on “McValue” in 2025: The fast-food chain plans to extend its $5 value menu and add deals as the QSR price war rages on.

Consumers steer clear of fast food despite QSR price war: Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Popeye’s all saw comparable sales fall in Q3—although Taco Bell’s value proposition kept it ahead of the pack.

Retailers adjust China strategies to coax cost-conscious shoppers to open their wallets: Ikea and Pizza Hut will open more small-format stores to reach new customers, while H&M set up shop on Pinduoduo and Douyin.

The nation’s largest fast- food chains race to the bottom: Taco Bell and Sonic joined Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s in rolling out low-cost value meals to attract cost-conscious consumers.

On today's podcast episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss why the restaurant industry is facing another year of uncertainty and how restaurants are boosting loyalty. Then, for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank the top restaurant loyalty programs. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analyst Blake Droesch and senior director of media content Becky Schilling.

Consumers are trading down to value-oriented QSR brands: That trend helped Yum Brands and Subway post strong gains in Q4, while higher-priced restaurants like Chipotle disappointed.

In-store shopping will remain a crucial part of the retail sales funnel in China, even as ecommerce players continue to rack up record gross merchandise value (GMV). Pre-pandemic, ecommerce was already disrupting brick-and-mortar retail, but over the past year, retailers began to innovate more offline, leveraging new and existing technology.

For KFC, acknowledging the distracting nature of digital ads and making the experience more enjoyable is key. "That may manifest itself in an 8-hour interactive live stream of a room full of kittens playing with a Colonel-shaped cat climber," said Steve Kelly, director of media and digital at the fast-food chain.

Marketing to millennials is a top priority for many brands, but treating the demographic as a single group misses the opportunity for precise targeting.

Katherine Debicki, senior marketing manager of media, digital and ecommerce at KFC Canada, discusses how the brand is looking beyond demographic boxes to target millennials based off their interests.