McDonald’s says franchisees decide menu prices at their restaurants. In an October 1, 2026 statement, the company said its pricing recommendation tool does not set or change prices, and that it does not use dynamic pricing. The tool does not determine an individual customer’s price from what that person might be willing to pay, McDonald’s said.
The tool supplies recommendations specific to a restaurant, based on local market conditions. Franchisees decide whether to use them. McDonald’s said the tool does not change prices in real time or at different hours during the day.
McDonald’s pointed to local costs, demand, competition and economic conditions as factors businesses consider when setting prices. It said a restaurant at a transportation hub can face a different environment from a suburban location or one in a small town.
What the menu recommendations could change#
McDonald’s described how its menu suggestions would work in its March 25, 2019 acquisition announcement. It had agreed to buy Dynamic Yield, a personalization technology company. The planned use at outdoor drive-thru screens was to choose food to display using time of day, weather, restaurant traffic and trending menu items.
The system could also suggest additions based on what a customer had already selected in the current order. That gave the display two sources of context: conditions around the restaurant and the order taking shape. The described response was to change which food the screen showed or recommended.
McDonald’s said it had tested the technology at several U.S. restaurants in 2018. It planned a U.S. drive-thru rollout in 2019 after the acquisition closed, followed by expansion to other major international markets. Kiosks and its global mobile app were also identified as intended integration points.
Selling the supplier, continuing the relationship#
On December 21, 2021, McDonald’s and Mastercard announced an agreement for Mastercard to acquire Dynamic Yield. The companies confirmed McDonald’s had purchased the business in 2019 and said its technology had been deployed at McDonald’s drive-thrus and ordering kiosks in several markets by the time of the sale announcement.
The proposed sale concerned a supplier with customers beyond McDonald’s. The companies described Dynamic Yield as serving more than 400 brands across industries including retail, financial services, travel and restaurants. The agreement still depended on closing conditions, with completion anticipated in the first half of 2022.
The proposed buyer already had a technology relationship with McDonald’s. The joint announcement identified Mastercard’s SessionM loyalty platform and Test & Learn experimentation software as powering parts of McDonald’s digital customer engagement, and described the acquisition as a way to strengthen those connections.
Mastercard announced completion on April 4, 2022. Dynamic Yield joined its Data & Services organization, adding personalization technology to a business offering loyalty, marketing, analytics and consulting services. Mastercard presented the purchase as an expansion of the services it could offer brands seeking to engage customers across different channels.
The completion announcement also said McDonald’s planned to expand its use of Dynamic Yield globally and across ordering channels. The sale changed who owned the supplier while leaving its technology in McDonald’s stated expansion plans.
QSR Pro Staff
The QSR Pro editorial team covers the quick service restaurant industry with in-depth analysis, data-driven reporting, and operator-first perspective.
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