Walmart $WMT is the latest big retailer to aggressively target price-conscious shoppers with deals this Thanksgiving by rolling out its cheapest Butterball turkeys in six years.
The grocery giant will sell the turkeys for 97 cents per pound, in a promotion that will last all through the festive season through Dec. 25.
It is also offering a Thanksgiving meal bundle with more than 20 items serving 10 people for less than $40, marking the lowest price since the deal began three years ago. It translates to less than $4 per person. Walmart called the basket its “most affordable holiday meal yet.”
While retailers regularly offer big discounts through the holiday season, this year is shaping up to be especially competitive. Walmart’s deals underscore a growing price war among America’s grocery stores, as they seek to attract a consumer base that is more price-sensitive than usual.
President Donald Trump’s wave of tariffs has already sparked concern about price increases this year. Last month's inflation report indicated that prices were ticking up for clothes, furniture, groceries, car parts, and other products.
According to a recent Deloitte poll, consumers intend on spending about 10% less over the holidays than they did last year. The consultancy said earlier this month that U.S. consumers have been resilient in recent years but that they are “getting towards the end of that resilience.”
Walmart’s turkey discounting is especially eye-catching as the U.S. is facing its smallest flock in decades, partly amid a resurgence of avian flu. Elsewhere, Aldi last week also said it would sell a $40 Thanksgiving meal that feeds 10 people.
Walmart said in May that it would raise prices, citing rising costs from tariffs. “The magnitude and speed at which these prices are coming to us is somewhat unprecedented in history,” John David Rainey said at the time.
Separately, retailers are expected to sharply reduce their seasonal hiring plans in the fourth quarter, reducing the anticipated number to its lowest level in 16 years. A report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicted that employers will add less than half a million jobs in the fourth quarter. Last year that number was 543,000.
“Seasonal employers are facing a confluence of factors this year: tariffs loom, inflationary pressures linger, and many companies continue to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of large waves of seasonal hires,” Andy Challenger, a senior vice president and workplace expert at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a September statement.
—Chris Morris contributed to this article.