Walmart slashes Thanksgiving meal deal to $3.50 a person — its lowest price ever

Walmart on Wednesday revealed its annual Thanksgiving meal bundle, which costs just $35 or $3.50 a person — its lowest price yet as the discount retailer attempts to win over cash-strapped Americans. 

The Holiday Meal Basket can feed 10 people and includes 26 items – an 18% increase over last year – like a Butterball turkey, stuffing, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie.

But it actually costs 12% less than last year’s bundle, according to Walmart. The Butterball turkey, priced at just 97 cents per pound, boasts the same price tag it had in 2025 – even as inflation has run rampant.

A Walmart spokesperson told The Post that 96% of the items in the holiday bundle “are on rollback,” meaning the price is being temporarily lowered through Christmas Eve Day as part of their commitment to “Every Day Low Prices.”

It’s a sign that Walmart knows its consumers – especially its core base of lower-income shoppers – are cutting back on spending and hunting for deals, according to John Mercer, head of global research and managing director of retail research at Coresight Research. 

“Walmart knows that shoppers are spending selectively under pressure, so a headline deal like this sends a powerful message of price leadership at the start of the holiday season,” he told The Post. 

The researcher noted that Walmart received about $2.9 billion in tariff refunds at the end of the second quarter and announced plans to use that money to invest in pricing. 

The company announced 11,000 rollbacks at the time – so “it makes sense to hold some firepower for headline deals in the crucial holiday quarter,” Mercer said. 

Hitha Herzog, executive director of research at the Parsons Gromek Institute, added that Walmart is probably using the deals to keep up with “competition from other big box stores like Target and Amazon Prime. Walmart is losing market share and the only way it can maintain it is by continuously lowering prices.” 

New additions to the Holiday Meal Basket include Jiffy corn muffin mix, whipped topping for pie and the ingredients for sweet potato casserole, including sweet potatoes and Jet Puffed mini marshmallows.

The full list of items also includes: whole kernel corn, green beans, mushroom soup, fried onions salad topping, whole russet potatoes, brown gravy mix, frozen pie crusts, pumpkin pure, evaporated milk, rolls, stuffing mix, cranberries and a frozen whole turkey. 

The items come from a mix of Walmart’s Great Value brand items and national brands, like Jiffy and Jet-Puffed. 

It is available for purchase in stores or online through Dec. 24. Customers can also order the Holiday Meal Basket using curbside pickup, Express Pickup and scheduled delivery options.

Walmart is offering free Express Delivery on the holiday deal through Nov. 30. 

“The Holiday Meal Basket has become one of our favorite traditions at Walmart,” David Guggina, president and CEO of Walmart US, said in a statement. 

“It brings our purpose to life in such a meaningful way by helping families make the holidays special without stretching their budgets.” 

Walmart said its Holiday Meal Basket has saved millions of customers more than $350 million since its debut in 2022. 

Last year, the meal deal cost just under $40, or roughly $4 per person, and included 22 items.