Thanksgiving Grocery Basket Costs Less This Year, Led by Aldi

(Bloomberg) — Explore what’s moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast. Subscribe via Apple Podcast, Spotify (NYSE:) or Pocket Cast.

For the least expensive Thanksgiving meal, head to discount grocery chain Aldi.

That’s the conclusion of a report that measures the price tag on a basket of 20 common Thanksgiving items, including a 12-pound turkey, potatoes, green beans and corn, at 15 retailers in New Jersey. The average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner has dropped about 2.3% from last year, according to the Bloomberg Intelligence report, largely because of lower turkey prices.

While Aldi had the lowest price tag, it was still 3.9% higher than its basket last year. Rival discounter Lidl also came in low, at $50.74, but that represents a 17% price increase from 2018. Both stores offer mostly private-label items, which are usually lower-priced than their branded counterparts sold at other stores. The price of a basket at Walmart (NYSE:), Target (NYSE:), ShopRite, Stop & Shop and Albertson’s Acme chain all dropped. At Acme, the cost is down 20% as the company tries to lure shoppers into stores.

For consumers looking at mostly organic meals, the basket price has gone up about 5% on average from last year. At Fairway Market, the increase is 15%, while it’s up 8.5% at Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:).’s Whole Foods Market. (Amazon Prime members, however, will only see about a 5% increase.) Trader Joe’s, which has been opening new stores, brought prices down 3%.

For those planning on cooking for a large group, a trip to the warehouse store is well worth it. When converted to standardized supermarket pack sizes, Costco (NASDAQ:), Sam’s Club and BJ’s all beat Walmart and Target.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.