Kroger Reveals Customer Thanksgiving Favorites and Grocery Shopping Habits Just in Time for the Holiday

In preparation for Thanksgiving, The Kroger Co. surveyed customers to see how they plan to shop and what they plan to eat during the holidays this year.

“Thanksgiving is such a special time of year and we take pride in knowing exactly what is important to our customers during this holiday season,” said Tom Duncan, Vice President, Head of Marketing at Kroger. “No matter how they choose to celebrate, we’re happy to provide our customers with value on the items they need, want and love this Thanksgiving.”

According to 84.51º, Kroger’s retail and data science, insights and media arm, nearly 90 percent of surveyed Kroger households plan to celebrate Thanksgiving this year – and insights show customers’ tastes are trending toward traditional Thanksgiving offerings. Survey results revealed the below data from customers:

• The top five must-haves for any Thanksgiving meal include turkey (83 percent), stuffing (55 percent), mashed potatoes (49 percent), pumpkin pie (30 percent) and gravy (30 percent).
• While 20 percent of respondents considered cranberry sauce a Thanksgiving essential, the polarizing side was also ranked as the number one dish that customers refuse to eat on the holiday.
• Turkey reigns supreme on Thanksgiving tables with 78 percent of respondents sharing it is their protein of preference. Ham ranked second with 15 percent of respondents saying it is their go-to protein for the holiday and the remaining 7 percent of those surveyed say chicken, roast beef, brisket or tofu are preferred in their homes.

Leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, customers purchase select products significantly more in November than the rest of the year on average, with sales of pie and gravy increasing more than 200 percent, stuffing increasing more than 800 percent and turkey and cranberry sauce sales increasing more than 1,000 percent.

While looking to indulge in their seasonal favorites – with 43 percent saying they plan to splurge on Thanksgiving shopping – customers still aim to save on holiday meals. Customers are more likely to consider private-label products to save money and 71 percent say they look for sales, deals and coupons before venturing on their Thanksgiving shopping trip – making Kroger the perfect shopping destination. Customers can shop Kroger’s selection of thousands of Our Brands products like Kroger Turkey Stuffing, Simple Truth Gold Potatoes and Kroger Au Jus Gravy at a lower cost than the national brand equivalent with no compromise on quality. The retailer is also offering its Freshgiving basket filled with Thanksgiving staples that feed ten people for under $4.85 per person. With more than $800 available in Thanksgiving savings, customers can look forward to hot weekly digital deals on items across the store, BOGOs and more.

Though the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the season, customers can still stock up on all their Thanksgiving favorites now by shopping in-store or through Kroger Pickup and Delivery. With 74 percent of customers forgetting to purchase necessary ingredients during the holiday season, Kroger makes getting those missing ingredients easier with Boost by Kroger Plus, the delivery membership that can save customers up to $1,000 per year on fuel and grocery delivery. And if you need ingredients quickly, try Express Delivery, our fastest delivery option available, by clicking the Express icon at checkout.