There used to be a time when EVERYONE bought combo meals at fast food restaurants.  But then McDonald's started expanding their Dollar Menu, Wendy's stepped theirs up, and Burger King copied both of them.  And then it was ON.

According to a market research firm called the NPD Group, the Dollar Menu is KILLING the combo meal.  People are using the Dollar Menu to create their own meals, a la carte, and they're ignoring the standard sandwich-fries-drink combo.

In 2007, Americans bought approximately nine billion combo meals.  In 2011, that dropped to eight billion.  That means we ordered A BILLION LESS combos in 2011 than we did just four years earlier.  

(Food and Drink Digital)