Would you like Free Wifi with your Fries? MCD offers Free Wifi
by Rob Paterson
Follow up on Joe’s post before this
McDonalds will offer unlimited free Wifi at most of its outlets starting today.
This move is tied into their coffee strategy – and directly attacks Starbucks. Earlier Starbucks saw that making a coffee shop into a Social and Work place was a move that fitted into the more mobile social and work world. But in their rapid expansion, they seemed to have lost their way and ended up selling a commodity transaction. It is even more ironic that the shift to the public social and work space has accelerated as Starbucks withdrew. They could have owned this.
It’s ironic that MCD is shifting from the commodity platform to the social platform. I think a lesson for us all.
So what do you sell? How do you sell? If your answer is a transactional commodity, then order your tombstone.
PORTLAND, Ore. — McDonald’s Corp. said Monday that it will soon offer free wireless Internet access at most of its U.S. fast-food restaurants as it tries to broaden its appeal still further.
“We’re not just about hamburgers,” said Dave Grooms, chief information officer for McDonald’s USA. “We are about convenience and all kinds of value.”
The company, the world’s largest fast-food chain, has offered Internet access for about five years.
In mid-January, it will lift the $2.95 fee it has charged for two hours of Internet access at 11,000 of its 14,000 U.S. locations. There will be no time limit after the fee is lifted.
“McDonald’s is about value – value in our food, value in our services,” Grooms said. “It’s a natural fit.”
It’s also a good fit with the company’s growing coffee business, which has upped the chain’s competition with Starbucks Corp., which also offers free wireless access. Coffee and the McCafe line of drinks at McDonald’s have helped drive its sales and increase its market share in the U.S.
