A preliminary look at McDonald's all-day breakfast initiative is pointing to early success.
The NPD Group, a research firm, said the Golden Arches appear to have drawn new or lapsed customers into restaurants. The firm analyzed food receipts of 27,000 McDonald's customers in the month before and after the early-October launch.
“We found that a third of those that came in for all-day breakfast had not visited McDonald's in the pre-launch period,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD’s restaurant analyst.
The overall checks of all-day breakfast patrons were also higher than pre-launch.
Riggs said other chains in the quick-service industry, which is experiencing near-stagnant growth, may be compelled by McDonald's initial success with all-day breakfast to follow suit.
“It’s such a ‘Me, too!’ industry,” she said.
The consulting firm AlixPartners recently found that nearly half the consumers it polled would like to see more chains offer all-day breakfast, though their specific desires are somewhat ambiguous.
“Are they interested in this industry-wide?” said Molly Harnischfeger, director in the Restaurant & Foodservice Practice at AlixPartners. “Or are they interested in this for specific chains that have a long-standing breakfast platform and would be interested in potentially extending it?”
Harnischfeger said chains that lack a strong record with breakfast should probably be cautious about launching an all-day menu.
After this past spring's devastating bird flu crisis cost producers millions of egg-laying hens, could the egg supply even accommodate more extended breakfast menus?
Egg market analyst Brian Moscogiuri at Urner Barry said he thinks so; supply and demand are now in better sync.
“Between some of the imports and lack of exports, we're kind of reaching a little equilibrium,” he said.
