McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) might have to go back to square one because for now the fast food chain’s demand is declining. Even though it still remains the market leader, but newer generations of customers are beginning to change preferences rapidly thus affecting the company. McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) over the years has benefited in sales through  a customer base that falls in the age bracket of 20 to 30; these customers bring their children for the environment and comfort food the restaurant offers.

Even though McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) has not been completely abandoned yet, other restaurants are gaining an increasing market share and are on a constant rise. These restaurants include Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), Five Guys, Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) and more.

Technomic’s senior research manager, Rich Shank, states that these are the restaurants experiencing vast market growth at the moment.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is seeing flat sales in over 14,000 of its U.S restaurants compared to last year. Competition is increasing for the fast food giant with plenty of casual restaurants opening up on a regular basis.

Technomic’s survey says that McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) hasn’t been increasing its base. Shank states that millennials are taking more interest in an increasing amount of options.

A Consumer Reports Survey also states that consumers are more health conscious now and want to buy healthier products. Consumer Reports senior manager, Tod Marks states that young consumers are going out of their way to try tastier meals. Considering all this, the magazine declared McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) the last ranked burger chain.

Analysts state that the consumer is willing to pay more for meals that taste better; this preference is forcing customers to go for other fast food chains.

This is not something new for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD); the fast food chain had to face similar situations back in 2000 and 2004. The restaurant has always picked up pace and tried to re-launch and counter these attacks through different strategies which always brought them right back up.

Shank thinks that McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) needs to add some spark to it and he is fairly optimistic that it will.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is already on the move by launching healthier foods like egg whites in its breakfast sandwiches along with its vegetable and chicken McWrap sandwiches. It also opened a learning lab in a Californian restaurant in order to experiment with different menu items.

Shank says that people are rating McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) lower than its competitors now; however, they may still visit the restaurant mostly because of the memories it has created for them. On the other hand, no matter how knee deep in water McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) gets, it will always be considered one of the finest brand names in history.

Shank continues to say that people may visit Panera (NASDAQ:PNRA) to fulfill their salad desire but a burger and fries craving will only be satisfied at McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) that is why consumers will always end up there.

He says that McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) has always been on top of things and it wouldn’t take them long to steer back in the right direction; therefore they shouldn’t be counted out of the race yet.

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