Walmart Fights Inflation By Actually Deflating Price Of Thanksgiving Meals

Say what you will about Walmart, but the big-box retailer knows its core constituency. While Target may be known for its trendy home goods and celebrity fan base, Walmart is all about giving customers a great deal. This Thanksgiving, it's giving budget-minded shoppers something for which they can be truly grateful: a marked-down holiday meal.

Some details are still unclear since Walmart won't be launching this meal deal until November 1, but a press release did reveal there will be two different meal varieties: a DIY option for customers who are okay with doing more of the prep work and one with pre-made foods for those who prioritize convenience. There's no word yet on whether or not Walmart will also be offering different sizes for these dishes since everyone's Thanksgiving guest list is different, but customers can learn about the available options in early November when the deals actually drop. We do know, however, that the store will be offering turkey for under one dollar a pound and reducing prices on name-brand items like gravy, stuffing, side dishes, and pies (both pumpkin and pecan).

Walmart's press release touts the fact that it's dropping prices to 2021 levels. While this is better than nothing, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that food prices that year were over 5% higher than they were in 2020. Still, food prices rose nearly 12% in 2022 and crept up a few more percentage points in 2023, so the big-box chain's prices could certainly be worse. Walmart rolled back its prices to 2021 levels last year, too, though it's claiming 2023's deals are even better.

Whether Walmart's holiday rollbacks are all they're cracked up to be remains to be seen, but even if the deals disappoint, at least you'll have another option. Another press release, this time from the similarly discount-focused Aldi, promises price reductions of up to 50% on 70 different holiday essentials. The deals will reportedly last throughout the holiday season, and while no exact date was specified, this seemingly implies the end of December or possibly early January. Like Walmart, Aldi rewound its Thanksgiving prices by a few years in 2022, so if holiday price wars are becoming a new retailer trend, customers will definitely have plenty to be thankful for.