Ah, Thanksgiving dinner.
The roasted turkey.
The dressing.
The pumpkin pie.
The prices.
Wait, what?
Well, with the average, home-cooked Thanksgiving meal running about $50, and encompassing multiple different purchases, many shoppers will be price-conscious as they shop for their turkey and “all the trimmings” this year.
Actually, retail pricing will take center stage throughout Q4, as shoppers seek out the best prices on everything from candy corn to fried onions to smart TVs.
If you’re a brand or retailer, it’s simply not the time for incorrect or uncompetitive pricing.
Price-Checking Thanksgiving Dinner
To demonstrate our price-checking and store-auditing capabilities, Field Agent sent agents this weekend to 48 stores, across six popular retail chains, to price-check Thanksgiving dinner. Specifically, we asked agents to audit a basket of seven goods* at Aldi, Kroger, Lidl, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods.
Field Agent also asked agents to collect nutritional information.
*The basket included whole turkey, fresh sweet potatoes, canned cranberry sauce, canned green beans, canned yellow corn, canned pumpkin pie filling, and cornbread mix.
Below we present the results from this competitive exhibition.
Thanksgiving Retailers: Who's Least Expensive? Most Nutritious?
The guiding question in this Mobile Audit was:
If the holiday were today, which retailers would be selling the least expensive and most nutritious Thanksgiving dinner?
The slide deck below presents the full results for you to view, download, and share:
Retailers Aldi and Walmart came in first and second, respectively, in the price-check portion of this mobile audit. At Aldi, the per ounce price of our seven-item basket of goods ran .36 cents, compared to .42 cents at Walmart. Of course, as stated in the report, the overall cost of Thanksgiving dinner ultimately depends on what and how much individual families prepare for their holiday meal.
Yet cost isn't the only factor shoppers consider as they purchase groceries. For instance, increasingly, shoppers care about the nutritional value of the foods and beverages they buy.
Perhaps not surprisingly, on the three nutritional metrics audited by our agents, Whole Foods carried the most nutritious basket of goods. Indeed, Whole Foods' basket contained 62% less sodium than the average basket of goods sold by the other retailers. The products sold at Whole Foods also contained 83 fewer calories and 9 fewer grams of sugar.
As we draw nearer to the actual holiday, it'll be interesting to observe how these retailers adjust their prices and inventories to capitalize on Thanksgiving shoppers.
Mobile Audits: Do More in Q4
Brands and retailers must be at their best in Q4. It’s simply not the time for retail oversights.
But you can’t fix what you can’t see: incorrect prices, missing displays, out-of-stocks, and the like.
Mobile Audits by Field Agent offer “instant in-store visibility” when and where it matters most.
Download our colorful infographic to learn more about mobile auditing capabilities.
Do more in Q4—and beyond.
