Want to cook a name-brand Thanksgiving dinner? Get ready to pay a premium
Here’s the good news: Retailers are tripping over themselves this year to offer inflation-weary shoppers the lowest deals on must-have ingredients for their Thanksgiving dinner.
Aldi, Walmart, Target and Lidl are among several grocery sellers who’ve been engaged in price wars with each other in the runup to Thanksgiving by slashing prices of key items such as turkey, stuffing and bread rolls.
Some are even handing out free turkeys. BJ’s Wholesale Club is giving its members a free Butterball turkey if they spend $150, or more, in the same transaction in store or online (until Nov. 14).
They’re offering this to win back shoppers — and lure in new customers — from their competitors as budget-conscious households have become less loyal to where they shop in favor of finding the best deals.
Although inflation, or the prices for goods and services that we consume daily has substantially cooled from its peak of over 9% two years ago, households have still dealt with high prices for some basic grocery items over the last 12 months, according to CNBC. This means budget-friendly options are still very much top of mind, especially as the year-end party season kicks into high gear.
So where should families to expect find the best food deals ahead of Thanksgiving?
The best value might be in how you shop, according to Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist with Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute.
Swanson is co-author of Wells Fargo’s annual Thanksgiving food report, which the bank released on Tuesday.
The report analyzes the price outlook (pooled from a variety of sources, including market research firm NielsenIQ and the US Department of Agriculture) for key items of the quintessential Thanksgiving meal – such as turkey, cranberries, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie.
This year, the report estimated how much it will cost to prepare the meal for a party of 10. It also analyzed whether there’s a noticeable difference between shopping private label versus name brand ingredients.
Where are the savings?
According to the report, a Thanksgiving menu for 10 prepared using name-brand products will cost about $90 this year, down 0.5% from last year’s Thanksgiving meal.
The same meal prepared using store brands for the same ingredients — including turkey, stuffing, salad and cranberries — will cost $73, up 2.7% from last year but yielding savings of about $17, compared to name-brand products.
“It is not surprising that shoppers can save money using store brand products, but it is surprising that the full meal cost using store brands is up from a year ago while the full meal cost using name brand products is down,” the report said.
This is because in several food categories, name-brand products are actually less expensive than the store brand, and in others, prices are almost the same. “This gives shoppers the option to mix and match depending on tastes and brand loyalty,” the report said.
The menu breakdown
Turkey: Fresh turkey prices are almost unchanged from a year ago. However, the price of name-brand turkeys, which account for three of four birds sold, are down 2% from a year ago.
Store brands are still cheaper but their prices are up 5% from 2023. Ultimately, the total price difference between a 16-pound name-brand bird and store-brand bird is just a couple of dollars, the report said.
Stuffing: The name-brand options are up 9% as a category from the same time last year, while the store-brand is up 3%.
Salad: The average price for name-brand pre-packaged salad mixes are down 2%, while store-brand options are down 1% from last year. However, the report said store-brand salad mixes are $3 less than the name brand.
Cranberries: A 12-ounce bag of name-brand fresh cranberries is down 3% from a year ago, while the same size bag of store-brand cranberries is up 6%, the report said.
Dinner rolls: Both name-brand and store-brand dinner rolls are up 3% from a year ago. But the report highlighted an important caveat – the quality difference between name-brand products and store-brand varieties can be very noticeable in some categories.
Pumpkin pie: Prices for name-brand pumpkin pies are up 1%, while store-brand options are up 3% compared to a year ago.
Beverages: Store prices for beer are up 3.3% from this time last year, while wine is up 2.4%. Within the soft drinks category, prices for 12-ounce cans are up 1.7% but down 10.8% from the same time last year for two-liter bottles.
The best advice, per the report, to saving a few bucks on the family Thanksgiving meal: Keep an open mind and be prepared to swap one brand out for another if the price can’t be beat and the quality is comparable.