Comment by brikym

I don't eat that junk but my understanding is McDonald's have segmented their customers into two groups:

1) People who just want to eat McDonald's now and don't care about apps. They will put up with the normal prices which are quite high now.

2) Cheapskate people who wouldn't go to McDonald's much due to the pricing, but can be enticed to go through deals in the app they are happy to jump through hoops to get.