Target, other retailers slash grocery prices

A Target spokesman said Tuesday that the retailer’s price cuts are not in response to the shutdown or the SNAP program. Stillwater-based Cub did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

Many chains are also reviving last year’s holiday promotions to attract deal-seeking shoppers. Walmart and the nation’s largest grocer, Kroger, are touting lower prices for Thanksgiving meals.

Target’s Thanksgiving meal for four costs $20, though some items have been swapped for private-label alternatives. Walmart’s advertised offering, priced under $40, now includes nine private-label items out of 15, compared with nine out of 21 last year. Aldi subbed Butterball turkeys for Jennie-O, cutting the cost by $7. And Cub’s spread comes in at $30.

Private labels have grown in popularity as shoppers look for more value. In Minneapolis, 64% of consumers said they would switch brands if their preferred one was too expensive, according to Deloitte’s Minneapolis holiday spending survey.

“We’re the home of Target, [and] mass merchants typically drive more value,” said Matt Marsh, Minneapolis managing partner at Deloitte. “Both nationally and in Minnesota, the search for value is a big driver of behavior. That’s across all cohorts.”

President Donald Trump recently said the economy is in a “golden age,” pointing to the cost of Walmart’s Thanksgiving meal bundle as an example.