McDonald's in Japan is following Burger King's lead in the U.S. by rolling out delivery services as more and more consumer prefer to dine in as opposed to visiting a restaurant or fast food outlet.
McDonald's Japan says it will refocus attention on four areas, one of which is "brand extension," according to a report by Burger Business. This includes "full-scale deployment" of both "McDelivery" service and the "McCafé by Barista" menu. Delivery has been testing for the last year and has delivered strong results, the company says.
During the current quarter, delivery is being expanded to additional cities, and will be followed by national deployment in 2013.
Burger King currently has a delivery service in the five boroughs of New York City, as well as in Houston, Texas. No word yet on whether McDonald's plans to introduce a delievery service in the U.S.
McDonald's Japan says it will pursue two types of marketing strategies: "one that generate profit and appropriately enhance product and brand value, and the other that yield temporary sales and profit but do not provide sustainable sales." In part, this means focusing on value-priced items such as 15-piece Chicken McNuggets and value-priced "McLunch" offerings.
