Americans can feast on cheaper prices for Thanksgiving

The grocery price war — and the tricky situation it has created for food retailers — is on full display this Thanksgiving season.

The price of a basket of Thanksgiving items, including a 12-pound turkey, is down 6.7 percent at Walmart stores this year, according to a report from Bloomberg Intelligence.

The study gives a snapshot of an industry in which competition has become increasingly cutthroat. Walmart has succeeded in reinvigorating its crucial grocery business, which generates nearly 60 percent of U.S. revenue, even as German discount chains Lidl and Aldi expand their presence.

Even though grocery prices have risen for three straight months after a record run of deflation, retailers remain reluctant to pass on the increases to customers, according to Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Nobody wants to be the first one to raise prices,” she said. “It’s remarkable, coming out of a sustained period of deflation, that the prices haven’t crept up more.”

The Walmart meal came in at $54.84, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Shoppers seeking an even cheaper option, though, should head to Aldi, where a similar group of 20 products can be purchased for $41.19 — down 2.6 percent from last year.

While Whole Foods remains a high-end Thanksgiving destination, the cost of turkey dinner is lower there, too, following its acquisition by Amazon.com. A basket of primarily organic items was priced at $113.71, down about 16 percent from 2016.

Amazon hasn’t said much publicly about its strategy for the chain, but it has managed to boost store traffic with ballyhooed price cuts on a handful of popular items since the deal closed in August.