Is McDonald’s artificially inflating prices?

The use of artificial intelligence to determine menu prices at McDonald’s restaurants has sparked new criticism of the company.
According to Yeniavaz.com, a Reuters investigation found that McDonald’s uses an AI-powered system in the United States and some other markets to provide restaurants with pricing recommendations for various products.
The system analyzes millions of daily sales transactions and attempts to determine the “optimal price” for products at each restaurant. In doing so, it takes into account the prices charged by competitors in the area, as well as how much customers in that area may be willing to pay.
The Reuters investigation found that the price of the same product can vary significantly even at restaurants located close to one another. For example, in Fresno, California, one restaurant owned by the company sold a Big Mac for $5.69, while another restaurant located approximately 3 kilometers away sold it for $6.89. Reuters could not confirm that this difference was directly caused by a recommendation from the AI system.
McDonald’s, however, disputes some of the findings in the Reuters investigation. The company says that the pricing portal is not mandatory and only provides recommendations to restaurant owners. It emphasizes that franchisees retain the right to determine the final price.
At the same time, Reuters reports that five franchise owners said they had been pressured by the company to use the AI pricing recommendations. McDonald’s, however, says this approach simply helps franchisees make business decisions.
Another aspect of the issue concerns potential legal risks. According to the Reuters investigation, McDonald’s pricing system notes that franchisees may be considered competitors to one another and therefore emphasizes the importance of complying with competition laws.
It should be noted that McDonald’s Azerbaijan CJSC was registered on March 1, 1999. The company, whose legal address is 340 Nizami Street, Sabail District, has a charter capital of 2 million 845 thousand manats. The legal representative of the CJSC is Oskar Vadimovich Bogopolsky.
It should also be noted that the franchise owner of McDonald’s in Azerbaijan is British citizen Javad Marandi, who was born in 1968 in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
Marandi’s business network includes well-known fashion and design brands such as “Emilia Wickstead,” “Anya Hindmarch,” and “Conran Shop.” In addition, Marandi owns a number of hotels.
Javad Marandi’s wife, Narmin Marandi (Alizadeh), is the daughter of Ali Alizadeh, a prominent Azerbaijani oncologist.
Narmin Marandi is also a British citizen. She currently serves as a director of “Wickstead Gargiulo Limited” and “A.S.H.S. Limited.”