9 September 2022

3 minute read

By: Global Ag Media

North America

Butterball released data from its 2022 Thanksgiving Outlook Report this week. According to the findings, people are excited for Thanksgiving with nearly 90% of Americans planning to celebrate in 2022 as concerns around COVID-19 shrink. However, concerns around inflation – particularly at the grocery store – are driving the need to get creative with cutting costs all without sacrificing holiday celebrations

When compared to respondent recollection of 2021, the report reveals a 4% increase in those hosting for the first time and a 4% decrease in those not planning to celebrate; the size of gatherings will remain the same as last year. While hosts are planning to manage cost savings on sides and desserts, turkey will still be at the center of their table and guest lists won't be scaled back.

Key takeaways and trends from the report include:

Though most Thanksgiving celebrators say inflation will have an impact on the holiday, they are not anticipating these worries will keep them from celebrating.

Nearly 90% of people plan to celebrate this year – an increase from 2021.

Among those celebrating, 85% of hosts are going to have turkey at the centre of the table and 90% plan to buy the same size turkey or larger than last year.

Only 8% of hosts concerned with inflation say they plan to shrink their guest list to control costs.

Turkey to be at the centre of tables but hosts look to cut costs in other ways.

While hosts may not be willing to compromise their gathering size or turkey, they do have concerns about inflation. Notably, 44% of Thanksgiving hosts are concerned about rising prices, specifically at the grocery store (87%) and gas pump (75%). The findings reveal multiple ways hosts may mitigate the costs of this year's Thanksgiving meal:

Some 55% of hosts concerned about inflation said they would shop for deals for parts of the entire meal. This marks a departure from early in the pandemic when hosts were concerned about minimizing the time in store and number of stores shopped.

To manage costs, hosts might economize with the sides they prepare (32%), cook more from scratch (24%), look for ways to make the meal less formal (20%) or ask guests to bring a side (15%).

"While people are eager to gather with friends and loved ones this Thanksgiving, we are seeing external factors like inflation that will influence the way people celebrate," said Rebecca Welch, director of retail brand marketing at Butterball. "But we also see celebrators planning to get creative with ways to cut costs that won't compromise a memorable Thanksgiving. We know people want to celebrate with a turkey at the center of the table, and as always, the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line is here to share its 41 years of Thanksgiving expertise."