Major retailers promise a cheaper Thanksgiving

NEW YORK, Nov 09 (Reuters): Grocery giants Walmart, Target and Aldi are trumpeting their Thanksgiving meal deals as more affordable than ever. But those retailers are doing exactly what shoppers are doing, trading down to cheaper private-label alternatives or offering fewer items.

Walmart's meal this year features nine Great Value private-label brand items out of 15, compared with nine out of 21 brands last year - a higher per centage of in-house brands.

The company accomplished this by subbing in a stuffing mix and sidelining onions, celery and broth. Those switches allowed for a revamp with the turkey - changing to the well-known Butterball brand (96 cents a pound) from last year's Honeysuckle White (then 88 cents a pound).

The company says its meal kit now costs less than $40 and feeds 10, versus around $56 total to feed eight people last year. This year's 22 items, which include more than one of certain goods like green beans and corn, is down from 29 a year ago. Walmart declined to comment.

Walmart, Aldi and Target have all advertised Thanksgiving baskets at low prices this year. The baskets have been altered in some cases from a year earlier, but all three are trying to attract inflation-stressed consumers.

President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings on the economy have been sliding, mentioned Walmart's reduced prices several times this week, noting a 25 per cent decline in holiday costs from last year. When a reporter pointed out on Friday that the basket contains less food, Trump said he had not heard that and blasted the assertion as "fake news."

The contents of the Thanksgiving baskets are not just symbolic. They mirror consumer preferences. A NielsenIQ survey conducted in September showed 58 per cent of respondents are extremely concerned about food price inflation, with 31 per cent saying they would choose store brands over national names whenever possible.

Food costs were up 2.7 per cent in September from a year earlier, according to federal data.