Your local burger joint is not immune to the enshitification. “Wendy’s will start experimenting with surge pricing, much like Uber and Lyft, as the company rolls out digital menus to all its United States restaurants by 2025, according to the company’s February earnings call. Under the test, burgers, Frosties, and other menu items will have “dynamic prices,” costing more during times of increased demand.”
Um… this was quickly retracted/rebutted by Wendy’s themselves: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234412431/wendys-dynamic-surge-pricing
Thanks Joseph. Wendy’s clarified they would be using “dynamic pricing” and not “surge pricing”, per the article you linked from NPR. “Wendy’s didn’t provide many additional details, but it said in a separate statement that the digital menus could allow the company to offer discounts to customers during slower times of day.” In my eyes this does nothing to stifle the enshitification of fast food menu pricing. This is damage control.