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Buyer Behaviour and Ethics

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Individual Report: First Sit

A Report on the Impact of Inflation on the Marketing Strategies of McDonald and its
Consumer Decision Making

By Okikioluwa David Fajemirokun

Student Number: 202129503
Word Count: 4844
University of Hull

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The food service industry in the United Kingdom has suffered a decline in its service for the
past two years. Due to the emergence of Covid-19 in 2020, the food service industry
experience low sales of their products and services because the fear of the virus stopped
people from eating outside and also the effect of the lockdown made businesses shut down in
the United Kingdom during 2020-2021. In the middle of 2021, the probability of an increase
in sales of products and services of businesses in the food service industry was looking high
because the presence of Covid-19 was gradually reducing in the United Kingdom. This, in
turn, allows the lockdown in the United Kingdom to be lifted for businesses to open and also
allow people to start eating outside. But at the moment, there is no prospect of increases in
sales due to the rise of Inflation in the United Kingdom. The rising inflation rate is a threat to
various industries including the food service industry. As a result of this, businesses are
changing their marketing strategies and increasing the prices of their products and services in
the United Kingdom.
With deep insight into one of the businesses in the food service Industry in the United
Kingdom, this report will look at how the rise of the inflation rate in the United Kingdom has
affected the marketing strategy of McDonald’s and the buyer behaviour of consumers of
McDonald’s products. McDonald’s is in the food service industry and is also exposed to
rising inflation. The increase in prices due to inflation will change the buyer behaviour of
consumers of McDonald’s products. This deep insight into McDonald’s will be done by
gathering secondary data from various sources which will be referenced.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Any organisation or corporation required for the preparation and delivery of food products
outside the house is considered to be in the food service industry (Thomas, 2022).
About 92,526 businesses, restaurants and mobile food services made up the majority of the
United Kingdom's food service industry in 2020 (Statista, 2022).
Restaurants remain currently besieged with rising and falling inflation, which has increased
the price of energy, food, and beverages as well as reduced the amount of money that
customers have to spend on going out to eat. Despite the sector experiencing a recovery in the
industry this summer after a sequence of enforced closures during Covid lockdown periods,
with 1,567 insolvencies in 2021–2022 compared to 984 in 2020–2021, closures in the sector
increased by 60% (Kalyeena, 2022)
Restaurant visitation decreased as a result of the drop in consumer purchasing power. The
frequency of eating out was also greatly impacted by rising price inflation. A sizable portion
of consumers stopped eating out as a result of these concerns and the lockdown regulations.

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The facilities that were impacted the worst were hotels, ice cream shops, and speciality
dessert restaurants (Global Data, 2022).
The food service industry like any other industry in the world is broad. It is an industry in
which businesses provide an avenue for consumers to get or eat prepared food outside the
house. The food service industry has various businesses such as hotels, motels, resorts,
restaurants, takeaway outlets, fast food outlets, pubs etc. As of 2020, the majority of the food
service industry which includes restaurants and mobile food services in the United Kingdom
was about 92, 526.
Under the food service industry, the focus will be placed on one of the businesses which is
McDonald’s. As a result of the rising inflation, there is

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a decrease in consumers visiting restaurants. The inflation made businesses in the United
Kingdom increase the prices of their products and service and also, the inflation has made the
purchasing power of consumers drop. This, in turn, has led to a drop in consumers visiting
the restaurant to eat out. McDonald’s being a restaurant business in the food service industry
is unfortunately not shielded from this circumstance. The inflation has led to the closure of
several businesses, drop the purchasing power of consumers and also made several
businesses change their marketing strategies.

1.2 RISING INFLATION IN THE UK

After peaking at 11.1% the month before, the inflation rate in the country dropped to 10.7%
in November 2022. The cost of housing, which has increased 26.6% compared to a year
earlier, was the main factor that influenced the most current month's inflation. Prices last
grew at a comparable level in 1991, the minute inflation peaked at 8.4 percent. Amid 1993
and 2021, the UK's rate of inflation never surpassed 5.4 percentage and was almost always
much lower (Clark, 2022).
Inflation has been a regular occurrence in countries all over the world including the United
Kingdom. The inflation in the United Kingdom over the years has always been minimal but
currently, the inflation rate in the country rose to 10.7% in November 2022 as supposed to the
minimal rate of an inflation rate of 5.4% that occurred from 1993 to 2021. This is to show
that the inflation crisis the United Kingdom is currently experiencing is way higher compared
to its past inflation crises.
The price rises for customer goods, which are fueled by strong customer demand and supply-
chain constraints, partake been blamed for the rise in inflation. The Russian invasion of
Ukraine has repercussions for the global economy in addition to its direct effects. Higher
energy bills are a substantial economic influence on the conflict in Ukraine. Road fuel costs
and housing energy costs have risen as a result in the UK. Business energy expenses have
risen and are anticipated to continue rising (Francis-Devine, 2022).
Countries all over the world including the United Kingdom are just coming out of Covid-19
restrictions. The emergence of Covid -19 led to lockdowns being upheld in countries all over
the world. As a result of this, businesses were shut down and with businesses opening while
coming out of Covid-19 restrictions, there were lots of demand than supply but there was not
enough supply to meet the demand of the consumers. This became one of the reasons for the
rising inflation in the UK. Without enough supplies from suppliers, businesses just coming
out of restrictions will not be able to meet up with demand and in turn, will want to make
sales to stay afloat. To avoid this, the increases in prices of products and services rose.
Another reason for the rising inflation is the current war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia
is the biggest supplier of gas to the United Kingdom. As a result of the ongoing war, Russia
has stopped supplying gas to the UK. This created an energy crisis in the country. As a result
of this, prices of energy soared. The more businesses pay for energy to carry out production,
the more the prices of products and services increases.

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2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 PSYCHOLOGY OF CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

Towards affecting the result of consumer behaviour, it is important to understand the
consumer decision-making process. The customer cannot be seen as an impersonal force that
makes decisions at random based on chance, convenience, or other factors (McFee, 2022).
The consumer's attitude, the perspective of their interests, and the opinion of the service or
product provider are all psychological aspects (McFee, 2022).
The decision-making of consumers towards products and services is not just random. A lot of
factors influence the decision-making of consumers, one of which is the psychological factor.
Some factors support the fact that consumers go through the psychological phase before or
during decision-making.
The amount of work we put into each purchase decision varies since some are more
significant than others. Sometimes, making decisions seems to be virtually instinctive, and
we appear to make decisions based on little information. We occasionally make decisions
after giving considerable consideration to the advantages and disadvantages of several
options (Solomon, 2020). This indicates that choosing among various behaviours or actions is
a key component of consumer decision-making (Thomas et al, 2013).
The process people or groups go through to choose, buy, utilise, and discard products,
services, ideas, or experiences to satiate their needs and desires is known as consumer
behaviour (Solomon, 2013). Consumers go through five steps in the classic decision-making
process model when purchasing a good or service. Need or problem recognition, which
happens when customers understand they need something, is the model's initial stage. An
immediate, extremely basic urge that manifests as a need is stated to as an internal incentive.
Once someone is impacted through external factors, that is an external incentive. By
employing advertising campaigns, marketers establish an unevenness or necessity. Once
consumers identify an unmet necessity and trust that a product will fill it, a want has being
generated (Alina, 2017) For every consumer, before a decision is made to purchase goods or
services, need recognition for the goods or services must be established. Many customers
choose fast food restaurants because they are convenient and quick to serve, especially people
in metropolitan areas who are too busy with their daily activities to have time to prepare their
meals. As a result, they choose fast-food chains that don't take too long to serve (Start,
2022,). For consumers of McDonald’s, their need recognition is the fact they need food and
not food prepared by themselves. They need already prepared food that they can eat without
going through the stress of cooking due to their busy daily lives.
After the advance of a necessity or want, the consumer begins exploring the numerous
choices that may be bought to satiate the need or desire. It is considered to be an information
search. Which is the second step of the consumer decision-making process. To make a
choice, the consumer will search both within and externally for this information (Alina,
2017). After McDonald’s consumers have established their need recognition, the second
stage of their decision-making is information search. Here, they search for information
internally or externally. They search for information internally by making use of memory.

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That is, their memory of buying a McDonald’s product will give them the necessary
information that will guide them to buy the product again or buy another product. While they
search for information externally by relying on reviews from friends, family, blogs and ads.
The major reason for this is for the consumers to get relevant information that will give them
a description of the product, especially a new product.
In the third step of comparing options, the buyer selects one of the crucial factors based on
which he or she will make a decision (Alina, 2017). In the third stage of consumer decision-
making, the consumer evaluates alternatives. Before McDonald’s consumers make a final
decision to purchase a product, they evaluate alternatives for the product. That is, they
evaluate the quality, price, and location of the product of McDonald’s against other
restaurants.
Once the consumer gets to the fourth stage of the purchasing process. Which is the actual
purchase, they stop assessing the product. A consumer must still make the decision and
complete the actual buying after determining which product to purchase (Alina, 2017). This
is the stage of consumer decision-making where the consumer gets to purchase goods and
services. Every consumer including McDonald’s consumer goes through this fourth stage
after going through the need recognition, information search and evaluation of alternatives.
Here, the outcome of the first three stages is the fourth stage. Which is the purchase stage.
Consumers analyse and critique the product in the last step, which comes after the purchase
(Alina, 2017). Here, is where consumer feedback comes in. This is where consumers evaluate
the product. That is, was the consumer satisfied with the product, and did the product meet
the consumer’s expectations? The answer to this might determine whether the consumer
wants to purchase the product again or not. It might determine whether the consumer will
patronize the brand again.

3.0 CASE REVIEW

3.1. McDonald’s – Company Overview
Founded by the McDonald’s brothers, McDonald’s is a large franchise. It is a public limited
company with headquarters in the United States of America. Brothers Maurice and Richard
McDonald opened the first McDonald's (MCD) restaurant in 1948 by converting their drive-
through barbecue joint into a burger and milkshake joint. In their second venture into the food
industry, the brothers opened a restaurant in San Bernardino, California. Their first venture
was a hot dog stand they operated close to Santa Anita Raceway. The first McDonald's
focused on selling burgers, fries, and shakes at a fraction of the price and wait time of
competing eateries. It changed the way a hamburger restaurant operated to achieve this
(Reed, 2019). They began franchising in 1952. Ray Kroc purchased a franchise in 1954, and
McDonald's began to expand after that. McDonald's Corporation had 34 locations by 1958,
and 102 by 1959. In 1961, Ray Kroc acquired the McDonald Brothers. Ronald McDonald, a
clown with red hair, first emerged in 1963, and McDonald's received its now-famous Golden
Arches logo in 1962. A limited-service fast food franchise, McDonald's (MCD) has more
than 35,000 facilities spread across more than 100 countries. There are well over four million
people employed there. McDonald's serves 70 million customers daily, which is more than
the entire country of France. According to IBISWorld, McDonald's had a 17% market share

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for fast food outlets in the United States in 2014. Yum! The closest competitor, Brands, also
known as YUM, held an 11% market share (Jhaveri, 2014).
The biggest fast-food company in the world, McDonald's, has been operating for more than
60 years. The eatery has undergone significant transformation in that period. What was once
a little BBQ joint selling 15-cent hamburgers has grown into a multibillion-dollar global
powerhouse. You might be surprised to learn about the variations between McDonald's
locations from decades past and now, as everything from packaging to the menu has changed
over time. With only hamburgers, fries, and drinks including "Triple Thick Milkshakes" on
the menu when the little diner originally debuted in 1940, the brothers could concentrate on
providing high-quality food (McDowell, 2020). With the opening of its first stores in Canada
and Puerto Rico in 1967, McDonald's started to enter foreign markets. In Yagoona, a suburb
of Sydney, the business opened its first outlet in Australia (Marsh,2020).
The largest chain of fast food restaurants in the entire country is McDonald's, an international
enterprise. McDonald's became a public limited company in 1965 and entered the global
market through joint ventures and franchising, with the business owning only 15% of the
total, with the remaining 85% being owned through joint ventures and franchises. As a result
of globalisation, McDonald's is entering and growing in several countries and markets. It is
prevalent in over 120 nations worldwide. It is a household name and a well-liked brand
worldwide. In practically every country it is in, it also holds a significant market share for
informal dining out (Vignali, 2001). Diversification, market penetration, product
development and market development are crucial parts of McDonald’s marketing strategy.
The outcome of this is its immense growth all over the world.

3.2 Rationale for Choosing McDonald’s

Since the establishment of McDonald’s, they have witnessed the evolution from selling
burgers in a single shack to having multiple franchise stores all over the globe. Their long
stay of still functioning is not by luck. The company has witnessed multiple crises such as
inflation, war, disease outbreak, Covid-19 etc but they are still able to come out of every
unfavourable situation. This has made the company to be the world’s leading food service
restaurant. McDonald’s is being chosen because of how they have been able to stay in
business despite numerous unfavourable situations. With the current rising inflation in the
United Kingdom, will it affect McDonald’s, will it change its marketing strategies, and will it
drop the purchasing power of its consumers? Their effective business tactics, which have
allowed them to stay in business, may teach others how to deal with unforeseen
circumstances.

3.3 Methodology
This report's foundation is secondary research, which gathers pre-existing data from online
publications, books, scholarly articles, government publications, research papers, etc. This
methodology was established to allow for the most effective method of collecting trustworthy
data and evaluating diverse resources. The psychology of decision-making by consumers was
the subject of a thorough literature review.

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4.0 Discussion and Analysis

4.1 Impact of Inflation on McDonald’s Consumers
In the UK, 67% of patrons of restaurant chains frequent McDonald's (Kunst, 2022). The fast
food restaurant business has acknowledged that it would raise the cost of several of its items
on the menu. Restaurants and distributors were "feeling the effects of growing inflation,"
according to managers. The UK's recent 9.4% inflation rate was the highest in more than 40
years. In the UK, the growing levels have driven up the cost of commodities (Hudspith,2022).
Consumer purchasing patterns are evolving due to inflation. According to McDonald's,
lower-income customers' purchasing patterns are altering as a result of inflation. In a
conference call with investors for the second quarter, McDonald's reported that its customers
are placing fewer orders. The fast food juggernaut claimed that "we're seeing customers shift
down to value offers and fewer combo meals, especially lower-income customers
(Meisenzahl, 2022). In its results call, McDonald's warned of "regular price increases" and
stated that, despite skyrocketing inflation, prices had increased by almost 10% in the previous
year (Grace, 2022). Due to the inflation, McDonald’s has increased its prices but so far, the
impact of the rising inflation seems to affect only the lower-income consumers of
McDonald’s. Inflation has influenced the decision-making of low-income consumers due to
the drop in their purchasing power. Inflation has not affected the decision-making of the
middle-income consumer and the high-income consumer but there is a probability that
inflation might also drop the purchasing power of the middle and high-income consumers of
McDonald’s because McDonald’s is gradually increasing its prices as the inflation rises. The
increase in prices has so far affected the low-income consumer but the more the inflation
rises, the more the increase in prices which in turn might influence the decision-making of the
middle and high-income consumers of McDonald’s.

4.2 Impact of Inflation on McDonald’s Marketing Strategies

From the time of the establishment of its operations, the company has placed a key
importance on raising public awareness to form a huge brand identity and market infiltration
that will help it further market its growing franchise business. The company led more
demographic studies as its clientele enlarged to improve targeting. This plan is still used by
McDonald's, which put in offline and online advertising campaigns to spread its distinct
brand message to a widespread consumer while using other platforms, like its specific mobile
app, to link with and win over loyal consumers (Pafitis, 2020). Due to its use of mass
marketing and affordable fast food costs, McDonald's attracts a wide variety of patrons. The
majority of the chain's consumers are in the age range of 35 to 54. Men and women buyers
frequently have low to average incomes (Arun, 2022).
There isn't an industry that is immune to the effects of inflation; they are quite difficult. The
importance of the value that our fans have come to anticipate from McDonald's to them has
never been made abundantly apparent to us by our fans. We are committed to preserving the
capacity to offer these kinds of deals to our consumers, whether it be through our standard
value meal, special deals we are offering through regional or local campaigns, or restricted
deals through the app (McCarthy, 2022). Because inflation has changed the buyer behaviour

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of consumers, McDonald’s with increase in its prices has changed its marketing strategies to
place focus on the value of the product despite the increase in prices. That is, consumers will
still get the value of whatever they buy no matter the price hike being given to the product.
Also, another changed marketing strategy is to have special deals for the consumers and
create awareness of these special deals through advertising campaigns. That is, there will be
unique offers attracted to purchases being made by the consumers. With the inflation
currently causing a drop in the purchasing power of the low-income consumers of
McDonald’s and the probability that it will also influence the drop in the purchasing power
the middle and high-income consumers if the inflation keeps rising, McDonald’s is placing its
marketing strategies on the value of the consumers purchase.

4.3 McDonald’s and Ethics

Moral standards are typically taught to people at home, in schools, in churches, or various
social settings. Although moral development happens throughout life and humans go through
several developmental phases as they mature, most people first develop their perception of
right and wrong when they are young. Since ethical standards are so prevalent, one would be
tempted to assume that they are just common sense. All people acknowledge some universal
ethical standards, but they each understand, apply, and balance them differently given their
values and life experiences, which is one reasonable explanation for these disparities. Ethics
can also be described as a process, approach, or way of thinking on how to make decisions
and analyze difficult issues and dilemmas (Resnik, 2020). Businesses significantly contribute
to society and stakeholders. In addition to providing goods and services, they also generate
money for investors, pay wages to employees, and collect taxes that support a wide range of
government initiatives and services as well as community infrastructures. Many businesses
generously donate to organizations and allow staff time to participate in volunteer activities.
This is a condensed and imprecise list of the sources of value offered by companies.
Nevertheless, despite the benefits they offer, many people hold a pejorative opinion of
businesses and the individuals who run them, thinking that they are essentially dishonest and
destructive. This viewpoint is supported by publicly circulated information regarding
corporate wrongdoings related to pollution, greed, discrimination, worker exploitation,
bribery, and other issues (Dacin et al, 2022). The motivations for embracing ethical standards
have been proven to be quite variable. Cynically, it has been said that the major goal of the
codes was to maintain profits, which implies that the existence of codes fosters reputation and
customer trust (Cressey and Moore, 1983).
Due to its unethical business practices, notably the way it handles its suppliers, the
multinational fast-food chain McDonald's has been dubbed the most unethical company in
the world. In an assessment created by Fraser Consultancy, which evaluated 42 businesses
from industries ranging from fashion to food, the company received the lowest ethical rating.
More than 1,300 customers responded to the survey, The Ethical Reputation Index. It
evaluated how ethical behaviour affects consumers' purchase decisions. McDonald's received
the lowest score, with 35% of UK citizens ranking its treatment of suppliers, employees,
customers, and the ecosystem as poor or extremely poor (Gilbert, 2006). The McDonald's
Corporation has come under fire for its dubious business ethics and practices. claims that the
company actively promotes low-nutrition food products to youngsters and that food also

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contributes to both children's and adults' health issues. The company has been under scrutiny
as the industry's champion for fast-food restaurants because of these ethical problems.
McDonald's may be held responsible for several health problems associated with its goods,
which include obesity and diabetes, even if they have avoided lawsuits in the past. The
company repeatedly avoids taking responsibility and makes an effort to place the blame for
unhealthy variables that cause diabetes and obesity on other people. The business must
demonstrate that changes are being made and that they are viewed to be more socially
responsible up until that point (Hartmann, 2004). McDonald’s is a big shot in the food service
industry and is not shielded from making bad ethical decisions. Over the years, McDonald’s
has made bad ethical decisions such as maltreatment of its suppliers, maltreatment of its
employees, maltreatment of its customers, not being ecosystem friendly, and bad marketing
ethics. These issues have been coming over the years and have made the company constantly
named the most unethical company in the world. Despite numerous lawsuits against the
company, ethical problems are still there.

4.4 Ethical Issues in the Food Service Industry

Restaurants can also use fewer non-recyclable plastic or Styrofoam cups and switch to paper
cups, or, as many cafés are already doing, charge less when patrons bring their bottles and
flasks. The catering business faces several issues in addition to the use of plastic. The
quantity of wasted food is also. WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme)
estimates that the food industry generates 400,000 tonnes of preventable food waste annually
at a startling cost of £682 million. By following a few easy steps, every restaurant can lessen
its impact on the environment while saving money (Hospitality and Catering, 2020).
Everyone is generally aware that fast food is unhealthy, yet because fast food restaurants
must meet demand, they often sacrifice customers' health to increase their profits. Other than
that, fast food marketing is ineffectual because of ethical problems. A moral problem in the
food service sector is the exploitation of its employees through the payment of poor wages.
The food service industry is a big industry filled with various businesses that serve as
branches of the industry. Several ethical issues are being raised in the industry. The issues
being raised are the fact that the industry is not ecosystem friendly, the industry deceives
consumer with its advertisement campaigns, the industry prioritises its profit before the
wellbeing of the consumer and the industry exploit its workers with fewer wages to its
workers.

4.5 Ethical Approach of McDonald’s to Marketing Communication

Major ethical ramifications are being caused by the dynamic, quick, and profound
developments that are reshaping the communication professions. Media convergence blurs
traditional lines between genres, while daily technical advancements enable certain
communication channels to wither away while allowing others to erupt under the weight of
intense competition (Drumwright, 2013). You may think of communication as a means of
developing trust. It is essential in today's conceptions of decision-making to ensure that
information and value are shared and a conclusion is founded on a consensus. The goal of
communication is to assist the consumers’ ability to make decisions on their own. Therefore,

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it is expected to include all pertinent information, in particular regarding its nature, and
potential consequences. Lying and cheating are morally wrong and, in many cases, are also
troublesome legally. Advertising and the dissemination of unbalanced information, however,
are seen as fundamental components of market communication. Existing regulations call on
businesses to accurately describe their items in both their advertising and product labels
(Schaper and Schicktanz, 2018).
After receiving a complaint from the Obesity Policy Coalition (OPC), the Advertising
Standards Community Panel determined that McDonald's had violated the Fast Food
Restaurant Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children (QSRI).
According to the QSRI, businesses cannot advertise their goods to children under the age of
14 in certain media unless those goods meet the QSRI's nutrition criteria for healthier dietary
options (OPC, 2019). In response to a complaint from the children's food campaign, the
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) determined that McDonald's violated laws designed
to shield kids from marketing harmful foods. Within 100 metres of schools, the advertising
regulation limits the advertising of foods that are rich in fat, salt, and/or sugar (HFSS).
Outside the school gates, a phone box displayed the McDonald's advertisement for Big Tasty
with Bacon, which is HFSS (Sustain, 2020).
False advertising claims against McDonald's. Advertisements for McDonald's that suggested
their meal might be an important component of a nutritious, well-balanced diet were
criticised as misleading (Penman, 1984).
McDonald’s over the years have an unethical approach to its marketing communication. Its
marketing communication is mainly to generate sales. Marketing communication only
considers the company and does not consider the consumers. Over the years, McDonald’s has
violated a lot of ethical standards for marketing communication which range from misleading
advertisements, to and wrong use of advertisement channels or platforms.

5.0 Conclusion
5.1 Key Lessons from Analysis
According to this report, there is a significant connection between the growing inflation in the
United Kingdom, McDonald’s marketing strategies, and consumer decision-making. With the
rising inflation in the United Kingdom, it has not affected the purchasing power of all of
McDonald’s consumers but rather, it has affected a specific set of its consumer. The
continuous rising of inflation might get to affect all of its consumers.
McDonald’s ability to change its marketing strategy to move with the trend whenever they
are being in an unforeseen and unfavourable situation has been part of the reasons why the
company is still a leading company in the world.
So also, from the report, it is observed that McDonald’s does not follow ethical standards
when it comes to its operations. The company is more of profit-oriented and does not put the
well-being of its consumers in its focus.

5.2 Limitation
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This report was done by collecting secondary data. However, there is no recent relevant
secondary research data to be used for this report and with the limited time, primary research
data cannot be conducted.

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