The Retail Rundown: Cheaper Turkeys Hit Shelves Despite Wholesale Price Surge

This Thanksgiving, holiday shoppers might spot some relief: retail turkey prices have eased, even as wholesale values climb toward near-record highs.

Ongoing challenges, such as persistent bird flu outbreaks and relatively low hatch rates, have limited production all year, leaving supplies exceptionally thin ahead of the holiday. 

While retailers secure turkeys well in advance to build cold-storage inventories, frozen whole-bird stocks in 2025 remain near seasonal record lows, leaving little supply cushion...

The Retail Rundown: Protein Adds to Holiday Price Gains

Easter week has arrived and grocers are tapping into the holiday's spending momentum. But for consumers, Easter dinner is shaping up to be pricier than last year, with many holiday staples seeing year-over-year price increases.

According to Expana’s latest US Easter Index—which tracks price changes in key holiday-related commodities—overall prices rose 11.8% year-over-year, driven largely by higher costs in the protein and bakery categories.

Expana’s Easter Protein Index, which covers lamb, beef, pork, salmon, cod, and eggs...

The Retail Rundown: Robust Retail Spending This Holiday Season

Retail spending has been robust this year, with recent data released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicating strong retail sales as the holiday season kicked off in November.

According to the Census Bureau, overall retail sales in November rose 0.7 percent month-over-month (MOM) and increased 3.8 percent year-over-year (YOY) In comparison, October saw gains of 0.5 percent MOM and 2.9 percent YOY.

“Job and wage gains, modest inflation and a heathy balance sheet have led to solid holiday spending," said National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz...

The Retail Rundown: Seasonal Trends for Ribs vs. Hams

With Christmas just two weeks away, this week’s retail rundown takes a closer look at two traditional holiday centerpieces: rib roasts and hams. These festive favorites have followed differing paths in the wholesale markets this year, potentially influencing their retail performance in the lead-up to the year-end celebrations.

The wholesale rib market began its seasonal ascent in the third quarter, gaining traction in early August. From August 1 through December 10, prices surged by 42 percent, far surpassing the 5-year average increase of 17 percent for the same period...