Target releases its cheapest-ever Thanksgiving meal deal

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN

New York (CNN) — Target is lowering the price of its Thanksgiving meal bundle, adding to the roughly 8,000 products that have been discounted as it attempts to attract inflation-weary shoppers during the holiday season.

Priced at $20, a $5 decrease from 2023, the Thanksgiving meal feeds four people and includes all the usual holiday fixings: a frozen turkey (up to 10 pounds), potatoes, canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, a boxed stuffing mix and jarred gravy. The deal is a mix of name brands and the Target-owned Good & Gather label.

“One of the themes we consistently hear is the need for affordability, so we have made a commitment to prioritize that and to make sure we are delivering affordable options,” Rick Gomez, Target’s chief commercial officer, exclusively told CNN.

Target is the latest major retailer to chop the price of its Thanksgiving meal bundle, joining Aldi and Walmart in a holiday price war. Sam’s Club last week announced a Member’s Mark Thanksgiving meal, which feeds up to 10 people for under $100, made up of the warehouse club’s private label products and is delivered already cooked.

Food price inflation has moderated substantially during the past year, Consumer Price Index data shows. As of September, grocery prices were rising at a pace of 1.3% annually, running well below overall inflation, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

“With inflation cooling in certain pockets, retailers are offering more deals to get consumers in the door with the hope shoppers will throw an extra item or two in the basket,” Dr. Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute, told CNN.

But the stiff competition among retailers illustrates how customers are moving away from brand names toward cheaper private labels following years of rising prices.

The price of turkey, the most expensive item in the Target bundle, was reduced by 20% to 79 cents per pound, Gomez said, following a broader trend of gradually declining food prices from their pandemic peak. All of the sizes remain the same as last year.

Target has also been ambitious with slashing prices this year, which helped boost its bottom line following a string of dreadful earnings quarters.

But Gomez said customers have positively responded to the discounts as they remain “choiceful” in their spending.

Customers are “trying to stretch their budget and they’re looking for different ways to do it,” he said, pointing to the growth of its private label business, which generate $30 billion in sales each year.

Gomez said Target customers are buying in bulk to save money, or purchasing smaller items that have cheaper prices compared to their full-sized counterpart. Others are increasingly on the hunt for sales.

Target has taken a cautious outlook for the rest of the year, an indication it expects customers will continue to bargain shop. The company expects sales to rise by up to 2% this year but also warned it may not reach that level.

Despite the cautious spending, Gomez says customers “continue to prioritize the holiday moment,” but added “they are looking for affordable options to do that.”

Target (TGT) will release earnings on November 20.

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