Millennials may have grown up on Happy Meals, but they haven't stuck around for the Big Macs.
McDonald's customers in their 20s and 30s have left the fast-food giant for "so-called fast-casual restaurants" like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Five Guys, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Generation Y diners want fresher and healthier options that they can customize for a little more than an average meal at the all-American burger joint.
McDonald's monthly visits by 19 to 21-year-olds have dropped 12.9 percent since 2011, according to restaurant consultancy Technomic Inc. That statistic remained stagnant for customers between the ages of 22 and 37.
"Fast-casual dining places like Chipotle and Panda Express lets the consumer guide the staff to prepare their meal just the way they like it," Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, told Consumer Reports in July.
The company claims non-burger options like salads or McWrap sandwiches help to draw millennials. McDonald's also is trying to market to these customers through "digital channels and testing mobile ordering and payment," according to The Wall Street Journal.
"The millennial generation has a wider range of choices than any generation before them," Steven Easterbrook, McDonald's Global Chief Brand Officer, told WSJ. "They're promiscuous in their brand loyalty. It makes it harder work for all of us to earn the loyalty of the millennial generation."
Other fast-casual restaurants making a play for younger diners are Panera Bread, Noodles & Co. and Corner Bakery Café. These establishments have skyrocketed from 9,000 restaurants to 14,000 in the last decade, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"Diners, especially younger adults in the millennial generation, may be more willing to go out of their way to get a tasty meal," Consumer Reports wrote in their July report on America's best and worst fast-food restaurants. The publication found McDonald's served the worst-tasting burgers, according to a survey of its more than 53,000 readers.
Overall, McDonald's has seen its worst slump in a decade, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company also announced on Friday it would replace its head of the U.S. division for the second time in less than two years.
