Did you know the price of a Big Mac fluctuates throughout Perth based on where you are?
I bet you didn’t.
Perth TikTok stars the Macpack have uncovered that McDonald’s does indeed change its prices depending on the suburb you are in.
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The video, which has attracted almost 20k likes, begins with one of the men listing a couple of stores around Perth, such as McDonald’s on Albany Highway, Murdoch Drive, and the Perth CBD.
A large chips and Big Mac will set you back $12.80 on Albany Highway, $13.05 on Murdoch Drive and finally $12.70 in Perth’s CBD.
The men showed their receipts for their McDonald’s online orders as they pontificate what could possibly be behind the price fluctuation.
“It’s gotta be something to do with economics,” one of them chimes in.
“That’s what I thought,” another retort, adding, “Lower socio-economic areas are paying less because of the customer demographic”.
However, he did argue with himself that he was in a lower socio-economic area and only paid “.15 cents” more for food.
“It must be a management decision,” his mate then argued.
“There must be a bracketed range where they (McDonald’s) are like ‘large chips is anything between $4.70 and $5.10’.
“If I wanted to be smart about this, I’d buy my chips from south of the river and my burger from north of the river and save 14c.”
McDonald’s explained that its prices are set at a restaurant level, clarifying many factors are considered for menu items.
“Like all businesses, we review our prices from time to time, considering several factors, including the higher-cost environment we’re operating in,” a spokesperson said.
McDonald’s also explains this on its website: “McDonald’s prices vary depending on every restaurant’s set of unique characteristics. Trading hours, customer-traffic patterns, and particular product demand can all impact price, as can factors such as drive-thru, McCafé, and 24-hour trading services.”