US McDonald's to Eliminate Drink Refills by 2032

Decrease in Store Visitors After COVID-19
Approximately 40% of Sales Generated Digitally

From now on, customers will no longer be able to refill drinks at McDonald's locations in the United States.

[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

According to the Associated Press and other sources, on the 12th (local time), McDonald's announced plans to remove self-service soda refill machines from all its stores across the U.S. by 2032.

This is to maintain consistency across all service formats, including in-store visits, online delivery, and drive-thru. It has not yet been reported whether McDonald's stores in other countries have made the same decision as the U.S. Currently, some stores in Illinois are known to have already removed the refill machines.

Previously, when using McDonald's in the U.S., customers could freely refill their drinks using beverage machines installed in the stores. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, takeout and digital orders have increased significantly, while the number of customers visiting stores in person has decreased.

McDonald's stated that digital sales generated through store applications and delivery apps accounted for about 40% of total sales in the second quarter of this year. Some stores in Chicago reported that even before COVID-19, drive-thru sales accounted for two-thirds of their total sales.

Although McDonald's had previously achieved improved performance, it made a decision to reduce staff in January. As of the fourth quarter of last year, McDonald's sales per store increased by 9.5% compared to the same period the previous year, significantly exceeding the initial forecast of 5.8%. Sales for the third quarter also reached $5.87 billion, with an operating profit of $2.76 billion.

At that time, Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's CEO, stated, "The increase in meals on the go after COVID-19 has expanded demand for drive-thru," and revealed plans to invest in digital ordering systems by simplifying the menu and reducing staff to cut costs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.