Kids’ meals at fast food restaurants aren’t just for kids anymore – adults are increasingly ordering them too.
According to new market research from Lightspeed Commerce, 44% of surveyed adults in the US say they have ordered from a kids’ menu for themselves, and one of the main reasons is price: 31% said “budget-friendliness” was behind their decision.
“Whether it’s a mini burger or mac and cheese, the kids’ menu is becoming a smart option – not just a nostalgic one,” Lightspeed wrote in its report.
Data from Circana released earlier this year, cited by the Wall Street Journal, showed that the number of orders for kids’ meals rose 28% in 2024 compared to 2019, even as overall traffic to fast food restaurants declined during that time.
This trend may not be surprising, given that prices at fast food restaurants have seen considerable spikes in recent years. According to FinanceBuzz, fast food prices in the US jumped by 60% on average between 2014 and 2024, which is double the overall inflation rate for that period (31%).
The highest price hikes have been at McDonald’s, up by 100% in 10 years, followed by chicken chain Popeye’s, up 86%. Of the fast food chains surveyed, the smallest price increases were at Starbucks and Subway, up 39% at both establishments.
However, cost isn’t the only factor driving consumers to kids’ meals; a desire to eat more healthily also plays a role, with 38% of respondents in the Lightspeed survey saying smaller portions are a key reason for ordering from the kids’ menu.
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“I’m getting, sort of, a taste of the nostalgia of a McDonald’s french fry without the debt or the damage to my healthier diet,” Yelp Vice President of Community and Trends Tara Lewis told WSJ.
Yelp says searches for kids’ meals on its platform hit its highest level since at least 2019 in December 2024.
Technically, adults aren’t supposed to order from kids’ menus, but those who do it say it’s rare for them to be challenged on the practice, and there are almost foolproof ways around it, for instance, by placing mobile or takeout orders.
Retail experts say the trend is a bad sign for fast food chains, as it indicates they may have raised their prices too far.
“If people are ordering off of your kids’ menu, you have other issues,” restaurant investor Dan Rowe told the WSJ.
The Lightspeed study found that fast food customers are changing their habits in other ways as well, becoming less tolerant of bad or rude service. Nearly one in three said they had walked out of a restaurant due to long wait times, and one in five said they had left a restaurant due to rude staff.
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There is also the issue of “tip fatigue.” The convention of tipping has increasingly come under scrutiny in recent years as the expected tip has gone from 10% of the total bill a few decades ago to 20%, 30% or more in recent years.
More than half of consumers (54%) say they feel pressured by tipping screens to leave more than they would like, up from 47% in the same survey last year. Some 44% of respondents say they are now tipping less, and nearly a third (29%) say they would like to see the practice of tipping eliminated altogether.
“In a time when people are choosing their dining experiences more intentionally, delivering on the basic foundations of good service – like hot food, respectful service, and reasonable wait times – matters more than ever,” said Adoniram Sides, Senior Vice President of Hospitality at Lightspeed.
“Customers are looking to feel valued the moment they walk through the door. In order to build loyalty and drive sales, restaurateurs need the tools and systems to get those fundamentals right. As dining becomes more of a treat, customer expectations will continue to rise.”
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