Turkey Wednesday

We all know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with Giving Tuesday even finding its way into the Zeitgeist. But what about Turkey Wednesday? 

While the name might still need some workshopping, there may not be a bigger day for grocers than the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

The Holiday Season Addition We Didn’t Realize We Already Had

For Publix, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving marked the highest day for visits nationwide in 2017 and 2018. For the period beginning October 2017 and running through October 2019, the Wednesdays before Thanksgiving rose 87.2% and 85.2% above the baseline besting every other day during the period.

Same for Safeway. The grocer saw visits rise 78.4% and 75.8% above the baseline for the same period beating out every other day. Ditto for Albertsons where visits rose 102.2% above in 2017 and 96.6% above in 2018. Whole Foods and Giant visits also saw their peaks on this glorious day for groceries. 

Kroger and Stop & Shop each had a single day that surpassed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, though Turkey Wednesday in 2017 and 2018 did finish second and third respectively for the period for both.

The Outlier - Wegmans Crushes Pre-Christmas

The only true outlier was Wegmans. For the regional titan, December 23rd turned in the highest visit rates, vastly surpassing the pre-Thanksgiving buzz. In fact, for Wegmans, even the Saturday before Easter 2019 was above Turkey Wednesday in 2018.

Prepping for Wednesday

So while the name might still need some work, grocers around the country should be getting ready for an influx of visitors on the prowl for last-minute ingredients to make holiday meals sing.

And the implications are important. From sales to staffing to the Starbucks that sits next to the local grocer, prepping for this influx of visits is going to help drive revenue.