Holiday costs from groceries to travel have increased and consumers are willing to pay them.
Roe D’Angelo and
Last year’s Thanksgiving feast was one of the most expensive ever; this time the prices are higher for everything from the wine at the start of the meal to the coffee and cake at the end.
It will also cost more to get to the table: The average domestic airfare for Thanksgiving week travel is up 46 percent from last year, while gasoline prices are up about 6 percent. Even your holiday weekend binge-watch is more expensive.
But American consumers seem largely undeterred.
While factors beyond the control of companies – supply chain issues; ingredient shortages; higher labor, fuel and shipping costs; and, in the case of turkeys and eggs, bird flu — helped drive up prices, as did customers’ willingness to pay them. Along with airline tickets, air traffic has increased. (Inflation was 7.7 percent in October, slowing from the previous month but still at levels not seen since the early 1980s.)
The cost of groceries rose 12.4 percent in October, but Walmart, the largest US supermarket chain, saw both sales and volume increase in the third quarter. And most American consumers expect to spend more on holiday groceries, according to a survey by Daymon Worldwide, a private label development company.
Planning to host or be hosted this year? Here’s how much more it could cost, compared to last year:
Diced Bread Stuffing, 14 oz.:+41%
White potatoes, 1 pound: +15.2%
Fresh cranberries, 12 oz.: -16%
Fresh vegetables: +8.3%
Netflix:+10%
Streaming services in general have become more expensive: an Apple TV+ subscription is up 28.6 percent, while Apple Music is up 9 percent.
Sources: Kayak airfare data based on available fares from August 1 to October 25. Data on annual product price increases from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Agriculture Department and the American Farm Bureau Federation, an industry group.
Niraj Chokshi, Julie Creswell and Jordan Holman reporting contributed.
