Pizza wars? As U.S. chains fight for consumers, how things slice up here

Data in the U.S. suggests pizza companies are facing “pizza wars” as they compete to retain and attract consumers’ dollars right now.

A retail expert says some of the findings likely reflect trends happening in Canada too, as consumers struggle with the heightened cost of living, including pulling back on spending and fast food.

This also comes after the Wall Street Journal late last week reported that sales growth at American’s pizza chains is slumping, and as fast food chains like McDonald’s have introduced more value options and promotions to combat slumping sales.

The report by Intouch Insight compared several medium and large pizza chains in the U.S., which were given scores by mystery shoppers based on multiple categories, such as delivery times, perceived taste and quality, and customer service.

“The narrative of the ‘Pizza Wars’ is evolving. While speed remains a vital component of the guest experience, our data confirms that quality will be the decisive factor for customer satisfaction,” Sarah Beckett, vice-president of sales and marketing at Intouch Insight, said in a press release.

While the report didn’t look at Canada, a retail expert says pizza and fast-food chains here are in a “fight” to attract more cost-crunched consumers.

“Times are tougher now. People are tighter now with their money, so they’re looking for hacks, if you will: life hacks that’ll help them stay on budget but still have a decent quality of life,” retail analyst Bruce Winder said.

“The main pizza chains in Canada, that’s where the fight really is right now. They’ve started to offer sort of value-priced pizzas for the families who still want to get a pizza on a Friday or Saturday night but just don’t have that money.”

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The Intouch Insight study notes that customers looking to get a pizza found picking it up themselves was the fastest option in most scenarios.

The report cites an earlier study from June 2025, conducted by Popmenu, which found that when cooking at home was not an option, 44 per cent of U.S. consumers participating preferred takeout, compared with 22 per cent who preferred delivery. It adds that in the case of takeout options, consumers “can avoid delivery fees and receive their food faster.”

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Winder said he believes the trend of consumers opting to pick up their meals, like a pizza, to minimize costs compared with delivery is becoming more common in Canada too.

“When the economy was good, we were willing to pay for convenience, and some people still do and that’s why you had the rise of UberEats and all the different food apps. But some people now are starting to say, ‘You know what? I’m willing to give up a little bit of that convenience to save a few dollars,” Winder said.

“I think consumers are picking up pizza more: ‘I’ll go and just pick it up because I’ll save the tip and delivery if there is a delivery charge.’ … These are the kind of things that happen when people are watching their money is they look for shortcuts. They have to give up some convenience for savings.”

Global News reached out to some of the biggest pizza chains in Canada, including Pizza Pizza, Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Panago, to ask about pizza pricing, and whether they were seeing an increase in food pickups compared with deliveries, in addition to offering more value options to entice customers. Responses were not received by publication.

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A report from Restaurants Canada released in September 2025 showed that three in four Canadians (75 per cent) are eating out less often due to the rising cost of living, and 65 per cent of Canadians are likely to replace a full meal with a snack at least once a month.

According to Food Banks Canada, the “historic” use of food banks has hit what it considers an “emergency” level, as households struggle with food affordability.

Food prices in November 2025 increased an average 4.7 per cent compared with a year prior, according to Statistics Canada, which was more than double the average increase for all goods and services in Canada.

Canada’s Food Price Report anticipates that Canadian families could pay $1,000 more for groceries this year compared with 2025.

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