Wendy's will begin testing surge-pricing in some restaurants as early as 2025

Grabbing a quick bite during your lunch break? Well, it might cost you a little more.

Wendy’s is gearing up to test a new pricing model next year in the US, where the cost of menu items will fluctuate throughout the day depending on demand, similar to Uber’s surge pricing.

Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner announced the new system on a call with investors and said it’ll invest $20 million on high-tech menu boards that will be able to update prices in real-time without incurring additional overhead costs.

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“Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing a variety of enhanced features on these digital menuboards like dynamic pricing, different offerings in certain parts of the day, AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling based on factors such as weather,” Wendy’s told Dished.

“Dynamic pricing can allow Wendy’s to be competitive and flexible with pricing, motivate customers to visit and provide them with the food they love at a great value.“

Wendy’s did not confirm if this new dynamic pricing model will be coming to Canada or what the cap of this dynamic pricing will be.

Prices at Wendy’s already vary by location throughout Canada. You can score a Dave’s Single for $6.99 in Toronto, $7.19 in Edmonton, and $7.29 in Calgary,

In BC alone, a Dave’s Single costs $7.19 at its 1488 Main Street location in North Vancouver and $6.89 at its 10125 152 Street location in Surrey, a 30-cent difference.