Wendy’s knew negative sales were coming in the first quarter. But the consumer environment was weaker than expected.
U.S. same-store sales fell 2.8 percent, driven by adverse weather in January and February, and guests concerned about their wallets, which continued through March. Wendy’s saw industry traffic fall mid single digits in Q1.
CEO Kirk Tanner said pressure was more acute with households under $75,000. Traffic from these households was down high single digits to low double digits, especially in March. Breakfast performed “a little bit worse” than other dayparts.
However, the brand maintained traffic and dollar share in the U.S.
“We think that we have every right to win the consumer, win in the marketplace,” Tanner said.
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To boost interest among consumers, Wendy’s will launch a 100 Days of Summer campaign filled with core menu innovation, collaborations, and value offerings across all dayparts.
The chain will kick off things on Memorial Day weekend with a deal around beverages at breakfast. Later in the summer, Wendy’s will revamp its entire coffee and cold brew lineup. The brand will follow that up with a Takis collaboration, which Tanner called one of the fastest-growing snack brands and a “standout favorite” with Gen Z.
The Takis meal will feature a Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Fuego Fries. Throughout the summer, the app will also showcase value deals like free fries every Friday.
Wendy’s said investors should expect chicken to be a big part of the menu going forward.
“We’re very intentional about putting the Takis collaboration with our Chicken Sandwich,” Tanner said. “And we do see chicken as a major opportunity. We will announce later this year, our plans to holistically look at the chicken. We have been working on it. I’ve tried these products. We have a lot coming your way from a chicken standpoint. I would think about delivering the best Chicken Sandwich in the industry, plus we’re looking at other chicken innovations that go with that. That will be coming shortly. I’d say we’re very intentional about, again, setting up our chicken, getting momentum in that part of our menu. We know that is critically important to our customers and attracting customers. So we are very focused on it. You’ll see much more from us in the latter half of the year.”
The hype will continue into the fall with another collaboration with “one of this fall’s most anticipated entertainment properties,” Tanner hinted. He added that the fall and winter calendar will be packed with equity-building core offerings, accessible deals, and “innovation that only Wendy’s can bring.”
“I feel really good about our 100 days of program, our 100 Days of Summer program,” Tanner said. “And I think it reflects the balanced approach of getting after the customer and solving customer issues and opportunities. Starts with focusing on our core. We have core innovation. Innovation platforms like our Frosty. Value is important. We do have the best quality value meal in the industry. But we will also provide value every single week for our customers through this 100 Days of the Summer off of our core menu. And then I’d say the collaborations that we have in the summer also drive passion points with customers. They drive traffic. I’m really excited. Our program starts in June with Takis and it will definitely create consumer love and noise and it’ll drive traffic.”
Wendy’s has already spent 2025 attracting customers with a new Frosty platform. It began the year with a Thin Mint flavor in partnership with Girl Scouts. That led to the release of Frosty Swirls and eventually Frosty Fusions on May 12.
The Frosty Swirls are Chocolate or Vanilla Frostys “swirled” with Strawberry, Caramel, or Brownie Batter sauces. The Frosty Fusions are a blending of those sauces with mix-ins, such as Caramel Crunch, Strawberry Pop-Tarts, and Oreo Brownie Batter.
“We’ve seen really good results early with Frosty,” Tanner said. “And I can tell you our experience has been when we get it right with Frosty, it definitely delivers traffic. We saw this when we did Girls Scouts Frosty with our collaboration earlier this year that set us up for this platform. We have a lot of confidence in building out our Frosty business. We think that this is a place where we’re tying into, again, customer passion points with one of our most iconic brands. So yes, we plan on that being a differentiator and helping us win in the market and take share. Frosty will definitely be a platform. We have a lot of confidence and early results are really encouraging.”
Wendy’s expects its innovation and value to bring in customers, and when they visit, the company wants to make sure restaurants are ready. The company recently launched a new field structure and added resources to double the number of in-restaurant visits annually. Wendy’s has already started conducting individual restaurant assessments, which has allowed the burger giant to pinpoint specific improvements that can upgrade the customer experience, Tanner said.
To help with order accuracy—described as the most important driver of satisfaction, according to Tanner—Wendy’s is rolling out menu item label printers and smart delivery scales. The printers help ensure every sandwich is customized properly and delivery sales ensures customers receive every item ordered. Restaurants that use these tools have seen a significant rise in order accuracy.
Those operational improvements will be combined with investment in technology. This includes enhancing the mobile app, growing the loyalty program, implementing digital menu boards, and scaling automated order taking at the drive-thru. Wendy’s is on track to expand its drive-thru AI pilot to more than 500 restaurants by the end of the year. The innovation often results in higher average check, raises productivity, and allows employees to focus more on hospitality.
As for the app, Wendy’s introduced gamification to give consumers more reasons to engage. It also boosted its personalization features, like delivering messaging that is most relevant to each customer. Because of these updates, the chain has seen improvements across app engagement metrics, conversion rates that reached an all-time high in Q1, and digital mix that reached a record of over 20 percent.
“We remain confident in our strategy and the strength of our brand to deliver long-term profitable growth,” Tanner said. “We are focused on controlling what we can control and adapting to the current environment through both value and innovation. The innovation on our menu means changing consumer preferences and creates experiences through collaborations that tap into customer passion points. And our 100 Days of Summer campaign will provide compelling value offerings combined with the highest quality food in the industry.”
Wendy’s finished Q1 with 5,958 U.S. stores and 1,358 international outlets. The brand opened 74 new restaurants across the globe, over 60 percent of which came internationally.
