McDonald’s UK extended its McDelivery service to 270 restaurants in the fourth quarter and also reported strong consumer interest in its Meals Under low-calorie range.
Paul Pomroy, chief executive of McDonald’s UK, said 2017 had been a strong year for the business, with its 47th consecutive quarter of sales and guest count growth, serving over a billion customers.
He said that over 1,000 restaurants have now been converted to its Experience the Future model, which feature self-order kiosks, and that sales of its Signature Collection had been growing. He said that New Year’s Day had been the group’s busiest ever for its fledgling delivery service.
It came as the global burger chain reported total like-for-like sales for the quarter to 31 December up 5.5%.
Pomroy said: “We are now into the final stretch of our restaurant transformation programme, Experience of the Future, with over 1,000 restaurants converted – and together with our franchisees we are investing in the overall McDonald’s experience. We continue to listen to our customers – they told us they want ultimate convenience and that’s what we offer, whether that’s through our digital self-order screens, the ease of table service, the handiness of a drive-thru or one of our 24 hour restaurants, click and collect via our app, or home service through McDelivery.
“Following its launch last summer, we’ve seen McDelivery go from strength to strength, now live in over 270 restaurants nationwide, and New Year’s Day was our busiest ever for the service. Continued investment in convenience will be key to our success this year, but it all starts with serving great tasting, freshly prepared, quality food. Our Signature Collection of gourmet burgers is proving popular and is rolling out in tandem with Experience of the Future.
“The technology in our restaurants is making our full menu range easier to access and more prominent than ever before, which means we’re seeing people try a broader range of options. In December we launched our Meals Under range to help customers discover menu bundles under 400 and 600 calories. They’re clearly displayed on our kiosks and bring together a main menu item, a drink and a side, with breakfast, lunch or dinner options and include many of our favourites such as the Egg and Cheese McMuffin, McChicken Sandwich, Chicken McNuggets and our Big Flavour Wraps. All achieve amber and green on the Food Standards Agency traffic light system for fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar. It’s about serving up information in an easy way for customers so they can make informed choices, and the kiosks are a perfect way of doing that.
“The market is constantly evolving, but the reasons why customers visit us haven’t changed – they want fresh, great tasting food, served in great restaurants, by great people at an affordable price. We have started 2018 with confidence as we continue to invest in what matters most to our customers and our people. We have a durable business model but we must keep listening and changing in what is a competitive and disruptive environment. This will be key to our success now and in the future.”
