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Fast-casual chain Shake Shack’s new Big Shack burger, an unmistakable riff on the Big Mac, is sending the internet into a frenzy. It follows the success of Chili’s Big Smasher, another Big Mac knockoff, and comes as McDonald’s itself struggles to get more people to buy its own iconic menu mainstay, made of two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce and, well, all the rest.
To some degree, such burger wars are yet another aspect of the “trade down” happening elsewhere in the retail universe, as people lean more on lower prices while their budgets creep higher. But when it comes to restaurants, the picture is more nuanced.
