Another retailer is grabbing attention for dropping prices for grocery’s biggest game of the year.
Thanksgiving Dinner, and the cost of it, is newsworthy every year, but this year is especially poignant with so many consumers — and media outlets — hyper focused on grocery inflation.
The Farm Bureau typically releases its cost analysis for Thanksgiving Dinner in mid-November. Last year was up 14%. I cringe to think about this year’s estimate. IRI already announced its cost estimate this week, up 13.5%.
Here’s where retailers are coming in with big promotions. Lidl says it can deliver Thanksgiving for under $30, and now Bentonville, AR-based Walmart Inc. is getting in on the game.
According to a blog post by John Laney, executive vice president of food for Walmart US, the company plans to “remove inflation” and roll prices of Thanksgiving items back to a year ago.
The pricing is “based on the average price charged for the featured items from Nov. 1 – Dec. 26, 2021, vs. our national or highest regional price to be charged when purchasing the entire assortment of the same items from Nov. 1 – Dec. 26, 2022.” Walmart notes pricing at local stores may be lower.
But, if Walmart really wanted to go big on this type of promotion, they’d roll back prices to 2019. Most consumers started to notice inflation in a big way in 2021, after we’d already started to see prices rise.
Aldi is already going there. The Batavia, IL-based discounter’s Thanksgiving Price Rewind promotion is dropping prices to 2019.
These promotions will certainly be talked about. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the cost of groceries, although I’d say that Thanksgiving is one meal where we’re ready to splurge.
Another retailer is grabbing attention for dropping prices for grocery’s biggest game of the year.
Thanksgiving Dinner, and the cost of it, is newsworthy every year, but this year is especially poignant with so many consumers — and media outlets — hyper focused on grocery inflation.
The Farm Bureau typically releases its cost analysis for Thanksgiving Dinner in mid-November. Last year was up 14%. I cringe to think about this year’s estimate. IRI already announced its cost estimate this week, up 13.5%.
Here’s where retailers are coming in with big promotions. Lidl says it can deliver Thanksgiving for under $30, and now Bentonville, AR-based Walmart Inc. is getting in on the game.
According to a blog post by John Laney, executive vice president of food for Walmart US, the company plans to “remove inflation” and roll prices of Thanksgiving items back to a year ago.
The pricing is “based on the average price charged for the featured items from Nov. 1 – Dec. 26, 2021, vs. our national or highest regional price to be charged when purchasing the entire assortment of the same items from Nov. 1 – Dec. 26, 2022.” Walmart notes pricing at local stores may be lower.
But, if Walmart really wanted to go big on this type of promotion, they’d roll back prices to 2019. Most consumers started to notice inflation in a big way in 2021, after we’d already started to see prices rise.
Aldi is already going there. The Batavia, IL-based discounter’s Thanksgiving Price Rewind promotion is dropping prices to 2019.
These promotions will certainly be talked about. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the cost of groceries, although I’d say that Thanksgiving is one meal where we’re ready to splurge.
Pamela Riemenschneider is the Retail Editor for Blue Book Services.
