Grocers Serve Thanksgiving Meals for Under $40 as Price Worries Build

Wegmans will hold its Thanksgiving meal at last year's price, serving eight people for less than $5 per person, the retailer announced Monday. The bundle features a 13-pound frozen turkey, yams, gravy, a frozen pumpkin pie and private brand items including canned corn, dinner rolls, cream of mushroom soup and chicken stock.

Wegmans is not alone in pricing the holiday table below $40. Midwest grocer Schnuck Markets last week unveiled a 10-serving Thanksgiving meal that costs less than $4 per serving. Like the Wegmans offer, the Schnucks deal leans on private label items such as canned corn and mini marshmallows.

Which chains are offering what?

Winn-Dixie announced two under-$40 holiday meal deals on Wednesday, splitting its offer by how much customers want to cook:

• A cook-at-home meal serving six for $38.90, which includes a 10-14 pound frozen turkey, private label stuffing, gravy mix, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls, a fresh pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes and ingredients for a green bean casserole.
• A heat-and-serve meal for $39.99 serving three to five people, with a choice of ham or turkey and four Reser's sides from six options, plus King's Hawaiian Dinner Rolls.

Price Rite Marketplace, a Wakefern Food Corp. banner, announced Thursday two ingredient lists for Thanksgiving meals that feed 10 for less than $3.90 per person. One is a traditional meal centered on a whole turkey. The other is a Hispanic-inspired meal featuring a pork shoulder as the main protein.

These traditional grocers follow Lidl and Aldi, which earlier this month introduced Thanksgiving bundles feeding 10 people for under $40. Aldi's costs $38.74, while Lidl's costs $35.86 for loyalty members.

Why are grocers pushing value now?

Rising grocery prices are straining consumers as they plan holiday spending, according to an Omnisend survey of more than 4,300 consumers across the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia. Between 33% and 43% of consumers polled said they will spend more on food this holiday season than they did last year. About half said they feel significantly more stressed about hosting than they did a year ago.

Research by Circana found that consumers will selectively cut back on holiday spending this year, with grocery aisle prices ranking among the key pressure points.

"Value remains the defining theme heading into the holiday season, as grocery costs and anticipated price increases continue to shape shopping decisions," Circana said in a blog post on the survey findings.

What does this mean for holiday selling?

Convenience is the second lever. Shoppers are embracing prepared foods and catering to make holiday meal planning easier, Circana found. Winn-Dixie's heat-and-serve option and the prepared components in several bundles show grocers pairing value with labor savings for time-pressed hosts.

For retailers, the sub-$40 bundle works as a traffic driver built on private label items that protect margin, from Wegmans' canned corn to Schnucks' marshmallows. With Aldi and Lidl setting the price floor at $35.86, traditional chains now face a value benchmark they will likely have to match again as the December holidays approach.