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Oct 29, 2024

Target joins other big box stores rolling out discount Thanksgiving meals

Target has joined other big-box retailers in rolling out Thanksgiving meals that it says will cost less than previous years' offerings. The Minneapolis-based chain said Monday that at $20 per person,

Target has joined other big-box retailers in rolling out Thanksgiving meals that it says will cost less than previous years' offerings.

The Minneapolis-based chain said Monday that at $20 per person, its "traditional Thanksgiving feast" will cost $5 less than last year's deal.

The meal includes brand-name versions of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and mushroom soup.

Among the bigger cost savings are turkey at $0.79 a pound, 20% lower than last year, Target said.

The meal is designed to serve four.

Members of the Target Circle 360 paid membership rewards program will also get a free pizza.

Target is also offering side dishes and desserts like mac and cheese and pies for under $5.

Last week, Target said it will have lowered prices on some 10,000 items in 2024 amid slowing inflation.

Target's announcement follows similar ones by Walmart and Aldi last week announcing lower-cost Thanksgiving meals. Walmart said its "inflation-free Thanksgiving meal" features 29 items serving eight people for less than $7 per person — a lower price point than last year's offering, it said.

Aldi, the grocery giant, said its 10-person Thanksgiving meal, at less than $47, is priced below what a similar meal would have cost in 2019.

In general, the rate of consumer price inflation has cooled substantially in 2024, rising just 1.6%. A measure that monitors the price of food eaten at home has climbed even less — just 0.5% on the year.

However, many consumers, especially those who earn lower incomes, continue to struggle under the weight of the overall price increases that have occurred since the onset of the pandemic. A recent Federal Reserve study found that those earning less than $60,000 per year have seen retail spending decline on net from mid-2021 through mid-2023, and climb just 7.8% since 2018, compared with 17% for high earners and 13.3% for middle-income earners.

Just prior to the pandemic, the spending rates had been roughly about the same for each group.

Rob Wile is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering breaking business stories for NBCNews.com.