It’s no surprise to American shoppers that grocery store prices have gone up with inflation in the past few years, and this year, some prices on Thanksgiving staples — like boxed cornbread mix — have once again gone up.
But there is some good news.
A 2024 report from Forbes shows that, overall, grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner has gone down in price .5 percent from 2023.
A classic dinner for 10 — including turkey, salad, stuffing, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie — would cost about $90 for a shopper purchasing name brand items, and about $73 for a shopper using the grocery store’s own brand of products.
However, as savvy shoppers know, not all grocery store brand products are created equal. A new study from Coupons4Real.com breaks down which major-chain grocery stores have the best deals on the groceries and household goods shoppers will be looking for as they stock up for the holiday season.
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Overall, Walmart is the cheapest grocery chain for brand savings. The study reports that the retail giant — which has its own Great Value brand for many products — sells things like mozzarella cheese, chicken and flatbread for significantly under the national median.
Those three products are cheaper at Walmart than any other store in the nation, costing 23 cents per ounce, 17 cents per ounce and 18 cents per ounce, respectively.
The store also has the widest range of cheap items of any national chain, meaning if you favor one-stop shopping, Walmart might be the best place for you to complete your Thanksgiving grocery run all at once.
But if you’re shopping for cheddar, mixed veggies, fruit mixes, burger and ground beef, lactose-free or plant-based milk, frozen seafood, coffee creamer, sour cream or cottage cheese, you might want to head over to Aldi.
The store’s prices on all those items are more affordable compared to the national median than any other grocery store. Overall, Aldi prices are in the lowest 35 percent of all store-brand offerings. Their two own-brand lines — Happy Farms and Season’s Choice — rank No. 1 and No. 2 on a list of the cheapest store-brand product lines
No. 3 on the list of cheapest grocery chains for own-brand products is Costco, which has the best prices on own-brand items like ground coffee, milk, hot dogs, sausages and shrimp.
No. 4 and No. 5 on the list are Target and Kroger. Target’s cheapest own-brand items include bottled water, eggs, white bread and cookies. Meanwhile, some of the best deals of Kroger’s own-brand line are ice cream, bagels, heavy cream and whipped cream.
Thanksgiving will be on Thursday, Nov. 28 in 2024.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes