High prices for burgers and shakes? Wendy’s will give it a try.

Maybe you’re the type who likes to bite into a hot, spicy chicken nugget from Wendy’s, and at $5.99 for 10 pieces in Midtown Manhattan, it’s a tempting treat.

Soon you might want to consider what time it is before you can satisfy such a craving, because the fast food chain will start pricing those crispy chunks of meat and other menu items differently depending on demand.

The company plans to start testing dynamic pricing as early as 2025, Wendy’s president and CEO Kirk Tanner said during an earnings call in February.

In other words, the prices of Wendy’s Vanilla Frosty and other menu items will rise and fall based on demand. The feature will be rolled out along with digital menu boards that reflect price changes; the company plans to invest approximately $30 million in these initiatives.

“We are always focused on improving the customer and crew experience, and in that spirit we are making even greater use of technology in our restaurants,” said Mr. Tanner.

Mr. Tanner, who became CEO of Wendy’s last month after a long career at PepsiCo, did not provide many details during the call about how much prices might rise, or exactly how the dynamic pricing model would work.

Wendy’s customers took to social media to express their outrage at the new strategy, with some even calling for a boycott. One joked that she was going to have lunch at 11am or 3pm.

The announcement came as food inflation in the United States appeared to be cooling after two years of rapid growth. The costs of food at home rose in January, but at a much slower pace, and restaurant chains and other food providers have said they are no longer raising prices as sharply. The slowdown can partly be explained by consumers resisting rising prices and companies saying they have had to spend less on labor and packaging.

In adopting the pricing strategy, Wendy’s will join a number of other companies that have introduced dynamic pricing, known as surge pricing, to charge more during periods of high demand, often to the chagrin of customers.

For example, Uber and Lyft charge more when demand exceeds the availability of cars on the road, such as during rush hour or bad weather. Concertgoers have also been hit with dynamic pricing, with some Bruce Springsteen fans, for example, discovering that tickets on Ticketmaster cost more than $5,500 when he returned to performing with his band after a yearlong hiatus.

Dynamic pricing has also been widely adopted in the commercial theater world, helping institutions that have suffered losses recover. But the variable prices can hurt first-time visitors, as they are likely to be the ones looking for show tickets at the last minute when tickets become more expensive.

Many consumers have learned to take changing prices into account. Before choosing where to eat, 81 percent of consumers check menu prices “always or often,” and half say they notice when restaurant prices change. according to a January 2023 survey of 901 U.S. consumers by Capterraa company that connects companies with software suppliers.

About 52 percent of respondents believed that dynamic pricing was price gouging, according to the Capterra survey.

As for Wendy’s, the dynamic pricing plan and accompanying digital menu boards would help with sales growth while improving order accuracy and the crew experience, Mr. Tanner said.

Wendy’s also plans to make menu changes that would be powered by artificial intelligence. The company announced this in December it would expand the use of a platform called Fresh AIwho had made it part of its drive-through experience to improve speed and accuracy, Mr. Tanner said.

All told, Mr. Tanner said, the technology has helped employees “focus on what’s important, preparing fresh, high-quality Wendy’s favorites and building customer relationships.”