McDonald’s tests ads on menu screens in select restaurants

According to McDonald’s, the pilot is limited to select company-owned restaurants. The company says it is exploring content customers may find useful, relevant, or interesting, while keeping the McDonald’s experience front and center.

Bloomberg linked the test to McDonald’s push for additional revenue from the period after an order is placed, as the chain faces slower sales growth and higher costs.

What happened

IGN reported that McDonald’s is testing ads from other brands on digital menu screens that appear after a customer has placed an order. In the coverage, the same experiment is also described as ‘post-purchase content’. So the test is not about the ordering step itself, but about the screens that appear afterward in the restaurant.

A McDonald’s spokesperson said, according to the Bloomberg report cited in the coverage, that this is a limited advertising pilot in select restaurants that are fully owned by McDonald’s. The company is looking at content customers may find useful, relevant, or interesting, without losing sight of the McDonald’s experience. In the quoted wording, McDonald’s stressed that the experience should remain “at the center of every visit.”

The test fits into a broader effort to make more money during the wait after ordering. Bloomberg also reported that McDonald’s is looking for additional revenue while sales growth slows and costs rise. The available reporting does not name any participating brands or provide specific locations or restaurant counts.

Background

The reporting includes a few scale figures to frame the test: McDonald’s is said to have about 13,700 restaurants in the United States, serve food to around 26 million Americans every day, and reach nearly 90% of the U.S. population each year. Those numbers are used to show how large the chain’s reach is, even if a pilot runs in only a small share of locations.

The same sources say McDonald’s is also working on restaurant improvements, including food quality and customer service. That is mentioned as part of a broader company focus alongside the ad test. The available reporting does not include concrete details about which brands are involved, how many locations are participating, which cities are included, or how long the pilot will run.

It is also unclear whether the test will later expand to other locations or to restaurants that are not fully owned by McDonald’s. The available information is limited to confirmation that this is a small test in select company-owned restaurants. The term ‘post-purchase content’ is McDonald’s own wording, while the reporting simply describes it as ads.

Bloomberg’s context suggests McDonald’s is looking for new revenue streams at a time when growth is not as strong as before and costs are climbing. The reporting does not tie that to a specific date for a wider rollout, but it does frame the question of how the chain can use the time after ordering. For now, the pilot remains a test of ad space on existing digital menu screens.