McDonald's removed the numbers from their menu

A few months ago I walked into a McDonald's and noticed they had removed the "numbers" from their menu. This could be different in other countries, I'm not sure.

(sorry, no photo, the employees didn't like my camera)

After giving it some thought, it was probably for the best ("best" for them, at least). Ordering a "number five" doesn't really have the same emotional impact on a consumer as stating the actual product's name, plus it further differentiates them from brands that also used a number system. I bet this is also the reason that Starbucks uses their own measuring system for the size of their drinks, plus it also forces their clients to think of them more than they should (hell, I've never gone to Starbucks and I'm talking about their order sizes).

There is also some sneaky psychology at work behind this. People who used to prefer saying the numbers will now be saying the names of the products (assuming they just don't stop going over this), and thinking something (product's name) doesn't affect your brain the same as saying it out loud (citation needed). It also removes a bit of clutter from the menu, one less point of interest should mean that people either spend more time looking at the rest of the menu (images, menu, prices, etc.), or spend less time looking at the menu (which is better for them if there isn't a line).

Something else to consider is that I've only seen the "core" products listed with a number, the cheaper and more expensive options just going by their names. Maybe they just want everything to merge better within the menu. The space they save should also help.

Another point is that I remember that I once heard an employee ask another if the "number four" was ready, having this level of abstraction could cause errors to happen if someone confuses what a "number four" is supposed to be. Even worse if it's the client that confuses the numbers and gives a wrong order, then complains over not receiving the "correct order".

So yeah, that's pretty much it. I couldn't find any info on this online (I like giving out links), so I guess this post is just my way of giving SEO the middle finger. (kudos if you came here through a search engine and where stuck with my article, for lack of options).