Feel-Good Friday: Major grocery retailers roll back prices for Thanksgiving sales as Bidenflation gobbles up family budgets

(AP Photo/Bree Fowler)

If you have an Aldi or a Walmart store near you, you’re in luck. Both retail giants are offering pre-inflation prices for Thanksgiving dinner essentials. Shoppers are bracing for the reality of Bidenflation gobbling up their grocery budgets as holiday season begins.

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I must say, the Aldi pricing sounds a little better than what Walmart is offering. Aldi is lowering prices to 2019’s grocery prices. That’s a 30% discount as part of its Thanksgiving Price Rewind. Through November 29, customers will receive the discount on select appetizers, sides, desserts, and drinks. The offer is available both in stores and online.

Walmart, on the other hand, is offering Thanksgiving dinner at last year’s prices. Their price decrease goes though Monday, Dec. 26. Walmart’s prices are also available both in-store and online. Walmart customers can shop from meal “baskets.”

“All the basics are there, like turkey, ham, potatoes and stuffing, but the convenience items are there too, like ready-to-heat mac and cheese or freshly made pumpkin pie,” John Laney, executive vice president of food at Walmart, said in a statement. “And we ensured that the price for the same basket of items does not cost more than it did last year.”

That’s good news for stressed-out shoppers who walk into a grocery store every few days and see higher prices on items that are on their grocery list. Have you seen the price of eggs lately? Everything is up, though, so while price roll-backs will be appreciated on Thanksgiving dinner essentials, shoppers will still pay more for everything else. Traditional Thanksgiving dinners could cost 13.5% more than it did in 2021.

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The savings come as record inflation pushes up grocery prices. Data from September’s Consumer Price Index shows the cost of food rose 11.2% compared to the same time last year. Families are also paying more for “food at home” — eggs, meat, fish, etc. — which is up 13% year-over-year, data shows.

Even with discounts and promotions, experts said shoppers should expect to spend more this year. “Promotions could swing the number a little, but I don’t expect [them] to swing it in a meaningful way,” Alastair Steel, executive of IRI Client Engagement, told CNN Business. “If anything, there are slightly less promotions.”

Items driving up the cost of Thanksgiving dinner this year include “eggs (+32.5%), butter (+25.8%), and flour (+17.1%),“ according to a report by Wells Fargo. Fruits and vegetables saw the smallest price increase at 7.3%, the report said.

One suggestion for lowering the cost and hassle of preparing a big holiday meal is to consider dining out. Especially for small families, that option may make the most sense this year.

Rising commodity costs are taking a direct hit on grocery store prices causing lots of Americans sticker shock. For this reason, Rubin says, “It makes economic sense potentially for that smaller family [of four] to go ahead and have that eating out experience.”

“If you’re a smaller family … consider a restaurant to skip that prep and cleanup, which is can be a somewhat of a hassle … It’s really going to be considered a stronger value this year, by potentially eating out instead of at home.”

While restaurants have raised menu prices, they are less impacted due to ingredients making up a small percentage of restaurants overhead. “They have economies of scale, they buy in bulk, they can spread out their costs across the labor pool to make more food at a lesser cost.”

Rubin does forecast that as consumer confidence increases, prices will adjust. “And that is something to be grateful for.”

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Obviously, with a large group of people to feed, dining out is likely price-prohibitive.

Every little bit helps family budgets stretched to the breaking point, thanks to Bidenflation. Perhaps other major retail grocers will follow the lead of Aldi and Walmart.

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