McDonald’s (MCD) is a huge enterprise with thousands of restaurants around the country and indeed the world.
Their menu items can vary greatly depending upon what country they’re in.
But within the United States there’s very consistent interest in the top item, according to a new study.
Researchers at pricelisto.com compiled search volume data to find out the five most-Googled McDonald’s menu items in each state.
While the top menu item and even the second were no great surprise, the items rounding out the top five in each state were varied enough to give hope to those fearful that fast-food chains have homogenized everything in the entire country into a mush of boring consistency. Well, some hope anyway.
First, to the preliminaries, it will come as no great shock that the Big Mac is the most frequently searched McDonald’s menu item in every state but one. The lone holdout is Alaska, where the Egg McMuffin is most frequently searched. McDonald's sells 550 million of the iconic Big Mac sandwich every year, according to the study. That's more than two a year for every adult in the United States
The Egg McMuffin, which was first introduced in 1976, is the second most popular item, except in Alaska, of course. There are also two states where the McChicken sandwich is actually the second most popular--New York and Ohio. (Again, this is based on search data, not actual sales.)
The McChicken comes into its own in the third most popular column. It takes that mark in 43 states. The McRib shows up as third most popular in four states. Chicken McNuggets are the third most popular item in one state — Wyoming.
The McRib dominates the fourth place popularity rankings, being most frequently searched for in 31 states. The researchers noted that the McRib is a seasonal item, usually appearing in the fall, which is currently appearing on a “farewell tour.” The question remains whether large search volumes can motivate an encore for the fabled sandwich, they added.
McFlurries, iced coffee, sausage McMuffin and the McDouble also make appearances in the top 5 rankings of some states.
The top 5 list was most consistent in 13 states, where the rankings were Big Mac, Egg McMuffin, McChicken, McRib and Chicken McNuggets. The states include Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.
