Major retailers promise a cheaper Thanksgiving, but there's a twist

By Siddharth Cavale

(Reuters) -Grocery giants Walmart, Target and Aldi are trumpeting their Thanksgiving meal deals as more affordable than ever. But those retailers are doing exactly what shoppers are doing, trading down to cheaper private-label alternatives or offering fewer items.

Walmart’s meal this year features nine Great Value private-label brand items out of 15, compared with nine out of 21 brands last year — a higher percentage of in-house brands.

The company accomplished this by subbing in a stuffing mix and sidelining onions, celery and broth. Those switches allowed for a revamp with the turkey – changing to the well-known Butterball brand (96 cents a pound) from last year’s Honeysuckle White (then 88 cents a pound).

The company says its meal kit now costs less than $40 and