CHAPTER 11
COMPETING THROUGH THE
EVOLVING MARKETING MIX
Acquisition will help burger group
customise its menu displays based on
differing variables
McDonald’s is spending about $300m to buy an arti-
ficial intelligence company in the fast-food chain’s
latest technology investment.
In a rare move for the burger group, which has for
years avoided acquisitions, McDonald’s announced
a deal on Monday to buy Dynamic Yield, a machine
learning specialist founded seven years ago.
The technology will allow McDonald’s to custom-
ise its menu displays based on variables such as the
weather and the time of day – McFlurry ice creams
in the heat or Sausage McMuffins at breakfast, for
instance – as well as previous customer choices.
It will also assess restaurant footfall to suggest
food that is faster to prepare when the kitchen is
busy, or more elaborate items in quieter stretches.
McDonald’s, which serves about 68m customers
each day from almost 38,000 outlets, plans to roll
out the technology at its drive-through locations in
the US this year before expanding it overseas. The
Chicago-based company also plans to introduce it
inside restaurants and on mobile phones.
Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s chief executive,
said: ‘This technology has the capability and the flex-
ibility to work on all of our digital platforms.’
Deal terms were not disclosed but people familiar
with the matter said the consideration was about $300m.
Dynamic Yield, based in Tel Aviv and New York,
employs 200 people. Clients include furniture retail
group IKEA, football club Tottenham Hotspur and
McDonald’s to buy AI company Dynamic Yield
By Alistair Gray in New York
McDonald’s serves about 68m customers each day from almost
38,000 outlets
Source
: Bloomberg/Getty Images.
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