Supply Chain Woes Have Consumers Gobbling Up Thanksgiving Fixings Early

Oracle survey shows 58% of Americans have already bought their Thanksgiving groceries or plan to shop early

Americans are worried about the impact supply chain issues and high prices will have on Thanksgiving. As a result, nearly a quarter (23%) of those surveyed in the past week have already shopped for their non-perishable items and 35% plan to shop earlier than normal for Thanksgiving groceries. Twenty percent worry they won’t be able to find all the ingredients they need and 26% are prepared to go to multiple stores to find them.

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“Supply chain worries continue to disrupt traditional shopping behaviors and stores need to be ready,” said Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Retail. “With the Thanksgiving grocery rush happening earlier, it will be critical that grocers have a clear view into inventory and are continually re-stocking to serve what will be an unpredictable pattern of shoppers.”

The survey of 2,085 Americans in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco was run by Untold Insights November 11-16, 2021. Respondents were asked to reflect on their grocery shopping plans for Thanksgiving.

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Turkey Trouble
Consumers are worried about the impact supply chain woes will have on the holiday:

• 20% of consumers are worried turkeys will be hard to find and more expensive
• 10% are concerned they won’t be able to find the size of turkey they want
• 20% (or 24% for Dallas) fear they won’t be able to find all the ingredients they need for their holiday meals
• 26% are prepared to go to multiple stores to get what they need, with that number jumping to 31% for New Yorkers
• 33% of consumers said outside of Thanksgiving they already have or plan to stock up on grocery essentials due to supply chain and COVID-19 concerns

Home cooking
Most consumers plan to enjoy a home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving:

• 70% of consumers plan to cook at home this year
• 51% are buying groceries in-store and another 19% primarily ordering their groceries online, For 2020, those numbers were 59% and 21%, respectively
• 41% plan to eat at a relative or friend’s house
• 9% (or 11% for New Yorkers) will pick up a pre-made Thanksgiving dinner from a restaurant
• 6% are planning to eat at a restaurant.

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