Overview
- A Berlin student, Mhimed Zekri, used McDonald’s app data to compare prices at about 1,367 German outlets and reported wide variation in identical items.
- The analysis found Big Mac prices ranging from €5.99 to €8.39 and six-piece Chicken McNuggets from €4.99 to €7.40, with 28 distinct Big Mac price points nationwide.
- Zekri’s list identified specific low-price outlets such as the PEP Einkaufscenter Neuperlach and Grünwalder Weg in Unterhaching at €5.99 and high-price sites in Kassel and Lohfelden at €8.39.
- McDonald’s Deutschland confirmed that most restaurants are run by independent franchisees who set local prices and said it will not verify the comparison without the underlying data and method, noting that timing, order channel and product configuration can affect displayed prices.
- The findings underline how franchise pricing autonomy can produce concrete consumer differences across short distances and across states, and they raise the prospect that shoppers could save by checking prices or ordering through different channels.