McDonald's Makes Breakfast Cheaper

By Ashley M. Heher, AP Retail Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — McDonald's Corp. will begin selling a variety of breakfast items for $1 early next month, a spokeswoman for the world's largest hamburger chain said Thursday.

The move to add to its already popular dollar menu comes as McDonald's tries to fight a decline in U.S. sales, which have slipped following months of success when its cheap eats were a big draw for recession-strapped diners.

On tap to be added to the menu, which already includes eight items for lunch and dinner time, are the company's Sausage McMuffin, a sausage burrito, a sausage biscuit, a small coffee and a hash brown.

Some of the items are already sold for a dollar or less at some locations, although prices vary.

Spokeswoman Danya Proud said some restaurants selling the items for less than $1 will likely make substitutions. That allows a restaurant already selling a small coffee for 89 cents to substitute a larger beverage for its Dollar Menu, she said.

Most fast-food restaurants, which spent recent years expand their early morning business, have seen a decline in breakfast diners as unemployment climbs and fewer workers stop in for coffee and a breakfast sandwich on their way to the office.

According to market research firm NPD Group, breakfast traffic fell 2% this summer at the nation's fast food restaurants.

But at McDonald's breakfast business is continuing to increase, although growth has slowed this year, Proud said.