McDonald’s global same-store sales fell 1.8 percent in October – the fast-food chain's first monthly sales drop since 2003 – as it struggles to combat slowing consumer demand amid continued economic uncertainty.

The company has up to now been a stand-out food service sector performer during the Global Economic Crisis, as consumers everywhere became more financially conservative, replacing more expensive restaurant meals with a Big Mac.

But the poor state of the world economy has now even caught up with sharply-priced burger chains, it seems.

The result was considerably worse than a 1.07pc decline in global sales forecast by analysts.

October's sales results reflected the pervasive challenges of today's global marketplace, McDonald’s chief executive Don Thompson told the market.

McDonald's has been able to boost customer traffic and sales faster than most of its competitors, thanks to its expanding global operations and increasingly diverse menu, but austerity measures in Europe and slower sales in North and South America and Asia has contributed to a slowdown in global same-store sales growth in recent months.

• In the company’s US operations, October sales fell 2.2pc, deeper than the 1.05pc decline predicted by analysts. The company said modest consumer demand and heightened competition offset the benefits from its Value Menu advertising, new menu inclusions and promotions.
• In Europe, same-store sales declined 2.2pc as positive results in the United Kingdom (influenced by the Olympics) were offset by declines across most other markets.
• In the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, sales fell 2.4pc decrease, not as bad as the 3pc drop projected by analysts, but worse than other regions. The decline partly reflected negative results in Japan, China and Australia.

Part of October’s global sales decline was explained by resurgent rivals like Burger King and Wendy's which have developed their own popular ‘value’ offerings to compete with McDonald's. The weak global economy has spurred intense competition in response to diners' diminishing appetite for spending money on restaurant food.

“In the struggling US restaurant industry, it’s a game of market share,” one analyst said. “With little room to open new restaurants in a country already saturated with fast food chains, growth comes from stealing customers from one another. Lately, McDonald’s competitors have been improving operations,” he said.

“McDonald's is in many ways a victim of its own success. The company for years has set the bar for growth by outpacing rivals and turning in strong sales despite modest consumer spending around the world.”

However the swing signalled how the soft economy was making it hard for consumers to afford even inexpensive food.

“Chains like McDonald’s that target mostly younger customers are being hit harder than those targeting older people, who have not been hit as hard by high unemployment,” an analyst said.

With more than 34,000 locations around the world, McDonald's has far more purchasing and advertising muscle than its rivals, however it would be difficult for McDonald's to post higher same-store sales for November and December because last year's results were so strong.

Australia is a major supplier to McDonald's global ground beef supply chain.