Wendy's Walks Back Reports About Price-Surging Their Menu

Just hours after making headlines for announcing "dynamic pricing" plans, Wendy's is now walking things back. According to a statement released by Wendy's late Tuesday night, the restaurant chain clarified that they are not planning to implement so-called "surge pricing" and said that the initial announcement about the dynamic pricing plan had been "misconstrued in some media reports".

"Wendy's will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest, the statement read (via WTHR). "We didn't use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement the practices."

The statement continued, "This was misconstrued in some media reports as an intent to raise prices when demand is highest at our restaurants. We have no plans to do that and would not raise prices when our customers are visiting us most. Any features we may test in the future would be designed to benefit our customers and restaurant crew members."

"Digital menu boards could allow us to change the menu offerings at different times of day and offer discounts and value offers to our customers more easily, particularly in the slower times of the day," the statement added.

Why Were Consumers Upset About Wendy's Pricing Announcement?

Earlier this week, it was reported that Wendy's would soon be rolling out the new pricing feature, one that Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner had revealed during an earnings call earlier this month that the chain would be rolling out digital menu boards as well as implementing dynamic pricing as early as 2025 — though as Wendy's follow up statement on Tuesday noted, the comments did not indicate "surge pricing".

"We are planning to invest approximately $20 million to roll out digital menu boards to all U.S. company-operated restaurants by the end of 2025," Tanner said on call with analysts and investors (via Nation's Restaurant News), "and approximately $10 million over the next two years to support digital menu board enhancements for the global system."

"Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling," the executive added. "[Technology] plays a key role on our restaurant team, enabling the crew to focus on what matters: preparing fresh high-quality Wendy's favorites and building customer relationships to bring them back time and again."

What Actually Is "Dynamic Pricing"?

According to the Associated Press, dynamic pricing is commonly associated with "the quick rise or drop in prices based on demand. At places that use this pricing strategy, it may cost more to go on a Saturday, when everyone else is buying tickets." Dynamic pricing sounds very similar to the surge pricing that frequent Uber users will recognize in that it is a strategy that sees pricing change based on various factors, including availability of drivers, demand, and time of day.

What do you think about Wendy's pricing clarification?