When times are tight, people trade down. They might take a local vacation or even a staycation instead of getting on a plane, and they may opt for a less nice restaurant, or even cooking for themselves when it comes to meals. That's a trend both McDonald's and Dollar General's CEOs have noted in recent earnings calls. "In the U.S., we continue to see a bifurcated consumer base, with QSR traffic from lower-income consumers declining nearly double digits in the third quarter, a trend that's persisted for n ...