Unless you were away or completely secluded from everyday life during this past holiday season, you are probably very well aware of McRib’s reappearance for a 60 day period in the months of December and January in its 2nd ever nationwide appearance. McDonald’s probably owes the astounding popularity of the McRib to it’s almost cult like followers. The limited availability of the McRib has also led to an excessive demand for the product throughout the country. McDonald’s probably keeps a low supply of this product on person in order to add an aspect of exclusivity and rarity to the product, that enables them to be sold very quickly during the limited amount of time during which the product is on sale. In fact if it were not so exclusive I doubt it would be as appealing of a sandwich to many because I personally find it to be disgusting. Some McRib consumers are so dedicated that they travel long distances in order to go to markets where the McRib at the time is being sold, another went as far as going to Germany, the only country whose McDonald’s sell McRib’s year round. The exclusivity is a good thing for McDonalds, in fact during the 3rd quarter, the quarter in which McRib’s were sold, McDonalds sales went up 5.3% percent in the United States. Tell us what you think about the McRib and rather its better being exclusive instead of being sold year-round? Or if there are any other products that are exclusive like this one? Also if you want to read the articles go to http://adage.com/article/news/mcdonald-s-rolls-mcrib-sandwich-nationwide/146811/
-Andrew Velvin, Will Noble and Cameron Casey
I think that is very smart of McDonalds to sell limited food to customers. I agree that making something seem rare and limited get more people interested in buying a product. If the product was sold year around, sales would only rise for a short while and continue to decline if the McRib is not very tasty on its one. Personally I have never tried the McRib and it doesn’t look very appealing. However if McDonalds makes a fairly tasty McRib and sale the product throughout the year at certain times, like again in December and January, they would have more profit than if it was sold year around like in Germany. With the demand of the McRib going up so high and McDonalds’ keeping the supply low their profit goes up even if it’s only for a limited time. People usually seem to feel special when they get the opportunity to have or buy something that is limited. People want what other people don’t have. Also reading the article it was stated that McDonalds would have targeted advertising to the Hispanic community and others like the Asian-American community. McDonalds uses a great advertising technique to lure in customers by making their products seem personal to the consumers.
ReplyDeleteMoriah, I completly agree with your conclusion that it is a great advertsing technique for McDonalds to sell certain products for limited amounts of time and that was pretty much the same conclusion I had come too after reading the article as well. After reading your comment i wonder what you mean when you mentioned how McDonald's could make a more tasty McRib? But overall i'm in agreement with the points you have raised in your comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree that McDonalds is using a good technique in limiting a specific meal to their customers. Since it is not on the menu every day, the demand for it will be very high when McDonalds announces they will be selling it. If it was a meal that someone could purchase everyday then people will grow tired of it and it would not be as special. Since they do not sell it everyday then they are benefitting from the meal because the demand for it will be higher and they will make more profit when it is available for customers. People would grow tired from it if it was available everyday and McDonalds would lose the profit they could make from it. Most people want supplies that are limited because it makes them feel inclined. And also the demand will be higher since they know it is limited and customers will want to take advantage of having it while it lasts. The data that is presented in your article proves that McDonalds is benefitting from the limited supply of the McRibs because it said the sales increased. I agree with all the statements in that McDonalds is using a good sales procedure by limiting the availability of the McRib.
ReplyDeleteBri Sharp
Limited time selling of goods has been a common concept since companies realized that selling certain holiday items at a certain gives those items a certain "flare," giving people the impression that they will be buying an item much more exclusive than the common one, simply because it's only available a few times a month. The McRib is no different. McDonald's allows natural publicity of the McRib occur through word of mouth, until it comes time for the McRib to actually be released, creating a sudden flood of demand that had piling up for the ten months that the McRib was not available.
ReplyDeleteI also think that McDonald's ploy to only release the McRib for a short period of time shows a great deal restraint when it comes to the concept of margin dealing. McDonald's knows that it could permanently increase sales by a small number if they released the McRib full time. But, by doing it this way, they make their sales jump significantly for just one quarter, which probably results in greater overall sales long term.