Sam’s Club joins Thanksgiving meal deal wars with feast for less than $100
Sam’s Club entered the Thanksgiving meal deal wars — offering inflation-weary customers a feast that includes turkey and all the trimmings for less than $100.
The Walmart-owned warehouse company on Thursday unveiled its Member’s Mark Thanksgiving meal, which can feed up to 10 people — for less than $10 a head.
Sam’s Club’s Thanksgiving meal echoes value-driven offers from Walmart and Aldi, as low-cost retailers scramble to appeal to consumers hit hard by high prices.
Walmart last week unveiled its “inflation-free” Thanksgiving meal deal, which can feed up to eight people for less than $7 per person. Then Aldi announced its lowest-priced Thanksgiving meal deal in five years, which can feed up to 10 people for a total of $47.
Cost-conscious customers are shifting away from pricey brand names to more affordable store-owned labels ahead of a particularly expensive holiday season.
Retailers offering low prices — like Walmart and Target — have won big this year while other companies have shuttered stores and filed for bankruptcy as cash-strapped consumers scrimp and save.
Walmart shares have grown 56.4% so far this year.
Inflation has cooled this year since its peak in mid-2022, rising just 2.4% in September, according to the Labor Department. But unprecedented rates of inflation over the past few years have left prices for food and other essential goods more than 20% higher since the start of the pandemic.
Many Americans feel like their paycheck hasn’t kept pace with rising inflation. About three-quarters of respondents to a Wall Street Journal national survey this week said they believe costs for everyday goods and services have outpaced the growth of household income during the past year.
Thanksgiving celebrations are expected to be the largest since 2020, according to a survey from turkey-producer Butterball.
Some 98% of consumers expect inflation to impact their holiday plans, up from 79% last year as consumers lose patience with sky-high prices, the survey said.
Sam’s Club is offering to deliver its meal fully pre-cooked – meaning customers can pop the food in the oven and serve it just two hours later.
The meal deal includes a whole hickory smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, a tray of macaroni and cheese, dinner rolls, brussels sprouts, sweet potato mash, a cranberry crunch salad and a pumpkin pie.
The deal is targeted toward deal-seeking millennials and Gen Zers, Myron Frazier, senior vice president of Sam’s Club Member’s Mark, said in a post.
Walmart’s Thanksgiving meal deal includes a whopping 29 items, including a whole frozen turkey, pecan pie, corn muffin mix and fresh sweet potatoes.
Aldi’s holiday basket includes a Butterball turkey, ingredients for green-bean casserole and pumpkin pie and more.
The meal deals precede what experts warn will be a disappointing holiday shopping season, as consumers are likely to remain hesitant, especially amid geopolitical uncertainties like the US election and wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Hitha Herzog, chief research officer at H Squared Research and part-time faculty at Parsons School of Design, previously told The Post an oversaturated retail environment with tons of promotions will not convince cost-conscious customers to spend big.
“Prices remain high for basic items such as grocery, fuel and clothing. Sticker shock does not bode well for discretionary purchases specifically around the holidays,” Herzog said.
“If the consumer has to choose between paying for Thanksgiving dinner or participating in Black Friday shopping, the consumer will allocate their budget towards food versus gifts,” she said.
