• DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    Big-box stores lowering prices wasn’t an altruistic move to throw customers a bone during tough times. Retailers have suffered from weak sales due to customers’ struggle with high prices. Target reported a 3.1% drop in net sales from a year ago and a 3.7% quarterly dip in comparable sales, marking its fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Though Walmart has continued to soar, it owes much of its 6% revenue growth to its e-commerce successes and wealthy customer base, the latter of which makes up a growing chunk of its audience.

    This trend has continued in fast food, with McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King all announcing meal deals following earnings reports that suggest customers are losing their taste for high-priced fast food, including $18 Big Mac meals and threats of surge pricing.

    No one could have anticipated this outcome

    • Jaysyn@kbin.social
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      5 months ago

      Due to this fuckery, my family will literally never by fast food again unless we are traveling.

      • eltrain123@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Pack a cooler with sandwiches, take bags of trail mix and other healthy snacks, and drink water from refillable bottles.

        Fuck the leeches. Live healthier, cheaper, more satisfied lives by cutting out the “convenient” fast food that costs too much, fails on nutrition, and makes you feel bloated and gassy. Prep doesn’t take any longer than stopping along the road to order and get your food, and you can still stop at rest areas for a picnic in an actually enjoyable environment if you want.

        Been traveling on the road for about a year. Life got better when I started prepping my meals and stopped eating garbage.

        • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Or maybe get creative with your meals because, as someone who grew up with endless long road trips, what you just described are some of the most depressing meals you can get and after a couple days most people will be so sick of cold, sad, sandwiches that they’ll be desperate for ANYTHING else.

          • eltrain123@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            I make a lot of different sandwiches before I hit the road… I guess I interchange them with wraps/burritos, too. Not just cold cuts, but leftover curries and stews smashed between bread, eggs and sausage/bacon, salad wraps… mixing and matching with different sauces and spices helps a ton. If you have the time to toast the bread or tortilla, it makes a big difference. I pick a different cuisine to use as a base for every drive… Indian, Asian, American, Italian, Mexican… you can keep it fresh.

            It’s mostly just about preparing a transportable meal. I guess I also carry soups, curries, chili, gumbo, and stews in a thermos. I usually try to stay in airbnbs or suite hotels that have a kitchen, but often just use a microwave. Sometimes i use microwaves at gas stations to heat up a meal, but that’s not always an option.

            The only thing I make sure to do is have something to prevent me from giving McDonald’s or Taco Bell $20 for garbage.

        • iopq@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          How is trail mix a healthy snack? It’s just some bread-adjacent carbs with extra flavorings. It’s literally the same as any other junk food

      • skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de
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        5 months ago

        Cross-country road trips now have the sandwich fixings stored in a cooler in the car. Pre-make the next day’s sandwich the night before and toss it in the cooler.

        Honestly it’s much nicer sitting at a picnic table at a rest area, which generally has nice views, than going into a restaurant or eating drive-thru in the car.

        At least the pandemic had some silver linings, would not have necessarily thought to do this otherwise.

    • Drusas@kbin.run
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      5 months ago

      Though Walmart has continued to soar, it owes much of its 6% revenue growth to its e-commerce successes and wealthy customer base, the latter of which makes up a growing chunk of its audience.

      wtf

      • alessandro@lemmy.ca
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        5 months ago

        Whale economy as seen in f2p games.

        Starve the community around you with higher prices, make all your money with the few who buy bottled mineral water for car wash.