Most Americans plan to buy their Thanksgiving turkeys on sale, at discount stores and from generic brands to offset rising prices this year, according to a recent poll.
Morning Consult reported Monday that 74% of consumers who plan to purchase a turkey said they would buy one on sale and 58% expect to choose a store-brand over a name-brand bird. In addition, 56% say they will get their turkeys at stores that offer rewards or coupons.
Although 73% of turkey buyers say they expect turkeys to cost more than last year and 29% anticipate trouble finding what they want, 87% of hosts still plan to serve the traditional Thanksgiving bird.
“Thanksgiving hosts will have some tough choices to make this holiday,” Morning Consult said.
The polling company noted that “the convergence of inflation and avian flu” have limited poultry supplies this year, adding to consumer worries.
The price of a whole frozen turkey rose to $1.47 per pound for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3, compared to $1.15 per pound at the same time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA has also warned that a bird-flu outbreak led to the death or culling of about 6 million turkeys — about 14% of the U.S. turkey population — heading into this year’s holiday.
Morning Consult found that 82% of Thanksgiving shoppers plan to look for more deals and discounts this year and 76% will favor stores with the lowest prices.
In other ways of cutting costs, 43% plan to serve smaller whole turkeys than last year, 41% will cut side dishes and 30% will cook turkey breasts or other parts instead of an entire bird.
Half of those surveyed planned to buy turkeys between late October and early November, while 11% said they would wait until Thanksgiving week.
Morning Consult surveyed 1,579 adults on Oct. 22-23. The survey’s margin of error was 2 percentage points.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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