McDonald's took an unsurprising hit in the wake of a deadly E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens of people and killed at least one. In the days following the outbreak, customer traffic dropped across the country, especially in Colorado, where cases were most prevalent.
Accordingly CNNCustomer visits to the chain fell 6.4 percent nationally and 24 percent in Colorado last Wednesday, the day after the outbreak was reported, according to data from Placer.ai, a platform that tracks foot traffic to restaurants and retailers. Next-day visits were down 9 percent nationally and 31 percent in Colorado. By Friday, the gap had increased to 10 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
After the Colorado Department of Agriculture announced that the beef patties used in burgers tested negative for E. coli, the company resumed sales of Quarter Pounders, the source of the outbreak, on Monday, October 28.
McDonald's chief financial officer Ian Borden admitted in its quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that customer traffic was down due to “the impact on its US business as a result of the food safety incident.” But the company is already working on strategies to attract customers back. In addition to relying on the chain's popular $5 Meal Deal promotion and new Chicken Big Mac, it is also considering a change in advertising to emphasize the safety of food.
CEO Chris Kempczinski also said during Tuesday's call: “We're prepared to do more to make sure we're using the full resources of McDonald's to bring it back online.”
News of the outbreak was first announced on October 22, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it was opening an investigation.
“This is a fast-moving epidemic investigation,” the agency said in a statement. “Many patients report eating McDonald's Quarter Pounder burgers, and investigators are working quickly to confirm which food item was contaminated. McDonald's has withdrawn the ingredients for these burgers and they will not be available in some states.”