Wendy’s Clarifies Uber-Style ‘Surge Pricing’ Reports

Fast-food giant Wendy’s is clarifying that it will use “dynamic pricing”, not Uber-style surge pricing which would change menu prices during the day based on demand.

If you’re familiar with  Uber you’ve experienced the foolishness that is surge pricing. This pricing model can sometimes triple the price of your usual fare due to heightened demand and while it feels unfair, riders have no other choice if they need the service.

According to Today.com, while many people believed that Wendy’s would follow suit with surge pricing, the company is clarifying that it’s implementing “dynamic pricing.”

“At Wendy’s, we’re focused on providing great tasting, fresh, high-quality food and doing it in a way that brings value to our customers. As we’ve previously shared, we are making a significant investment to accelerate our digital business. In addition to evolving our loyalty program, we are leveraging technology even more with the roll out of digital menu boards in some U.S. restaurants,” reads a statement from the fast food chain.

“Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing a variety of enhanced features on these digital menu boards like dynamic pricing, different offerings in certain parts of the day, AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling based on factors such as weather.”

Over the next 24 months, the brand will spend $20 million putting digital menu boards in stores that make it easier to change the prices of items and in a statement, Wendy’s clarified what “dynamic pricing” actually is.

“To clarify, Wendy’s will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice,” a spokesperson said in an email to NBC News. They added there are “no plans” to raise prices at high-demand times.

“We said these (digital) menu boards would give us more flexibility to change the display of featured items. 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,” the Feb. 26 statement reads.

“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 day.”

How do feel about dynamic pricing being a part of your fast-food experience?