Popeyes Continues Work to Break Sales Slump

Popeyes’ U.S. recovery is going to take time, according to RBI.

Domestic same-store sales fell 5.2 percent in the second quarter, although it’s expected to return to positive comps during the second half of 2026. Popeyes’ U.S. comps have declined for six straight quarters.

CEO Josh Kobza disputed the suggestion that the recovery was moving more slowly than anticipated.

“Popeyes is going exactly pretty much as we hoped it would,” Kobza said during RBI’s second-quarter earnings call.

Recovery efforts

The work involves value, food quality, marketing, and restaurant execution. RBI has seen faster movement from pricing and promotional changes, but improving operations across the system requires more time.

Popeyes began addressing its value proposition in January with $5 Faves, which has produced higher repeat purchase rates and supported traffic. The chain added a $6 Big Box and $20 Family Meal during Q2 to cover individual and group occasions.

The goal is to establish consistent, easily understood prices instead of relying on scattered offers that may not give customers a clear reason to visit.

“We’ve addressed that very quickly with $5 Faves, with our $20 Family Meal, and pulsing in the $6 Big Box,” Kobza said. “That’s been very effective and worked exactly as we thought it would and maybe a little bit better, and that’s helped to bring traffic back in and stabilize sales.”

Marketing strategy

Popeyes has also redirected its advertising toward the products that built the brand, which are tenders, chicken sandwiches, and bone-in chicken. The strategy marks a renewed focus on core items as the company works to improve customer perceptions of quality and reliability.

An upgraded tender specification reached the entire system during Q2. RBI said satisfaction scores improved across Popeyes’ main product categories, and sales volumes for some of those items have begun to stabilize.

Restaurant execution

Restaurant execution presents the most time-consuming portion of the turnaround. Popeyes has started recording progress in guest complaints and order errors, two measures that indicate whether stores are delivering a more dependable experience. RBI made a sizable investment in field support to accelerate those gains. The company dramatically expanded the team responsible for visiting restaurants, coaching operators, and providing training. Those resources are being directed toward locations that have fallen behind the rest of the system.

The effort follows the same basic lesson RBI applied during Burger King’s recovery, which is that national advertising and attractive prices can bring customers through the door, but execution determines whether they return.

“[The field teams] are starting to really engage with our restaurants and make progress in some of the ones that were lagging behind a little bit,” Kobza said. “I feel very good about the work that [Popeyes U.S. and Canada president Peter Perdue] is doing, and I think the recovery is very much on track with what we were hoping for.”