Chipotle adds free offer for customers amid rising prices
Key takeaways
- As it battles slow sales growth, it is offering $2 million worth of freebies to two key groups of customers.
- In the first quarter of 2026, Chipotle’s comparable restaurant sales increased by only 0.5% year over year, according to the company’s most recent earnings report.
- Foot traffic in Chipotle’s same-store locations also varied in recent months.
Chipotle adds free offer for customers amid rising prices Patricia Battle Sun, May 3, 2026 at 10:33 PM GMT+7 5 min read CMG Chipotle, like many of its peers in the fast-food industry, is experimenting with new tactics to attract price-conscious customers. As it battles slow sales growth, it is offering $2 million worth of freebies to two key groups of customers.
In the first quarter of 2026, Chipotle’s comparable restaurant sales increased by only 0.5% year over year, according to the company’s most recent earnings report. Its net income also dipped by almost 22%, compared to the same quarter in 2025.
Foot traffic in Chipotle’s same-store locations also varied in recent months. In January, visits decreased by 0.6% year over year, while they spiked by 5.1% in February and declined by 0.5% in March, recent Placer.ai data found.