After years of playing into the mass-affluence trend by trying to get their consumers to trade up to pricier, fancier fare, McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King are all deploying the 99¢ price point as a key marketing tactic going into a year when middle-class budgets are expected to be stretched thin and gas prices are still climbing.
But it's a ploy that has some franchisees worrying about value customers eating their profits.
