Over the past decade, Walmart has quickly become the biggest seller of groceries in the country, but that doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest. In fact, a new survey says that shoppers would save money this year by hitting up Target for their Thanksgiving feast.

Using a list of 18 items usually purchased for Thanksgiving meal — everything from turkey to heavy cream to cranberries — and adjusting for differences in package sizes, the folks at Bloomberg Industries found that the average Target shopper would pay $45.58, compared to $52.31 at Walmart.

Of course, these were still less expensive than places like Whole Foods, where Thanksgiving will run you $70.82, or Fresh Market, the most expensive of the 15 stores in the survey at $81.20 for the 18 items.

Nor was Target the absolute least expensive. That honor goes to Sam’s Club, where members would only pay $36.39 for their Turkey Day meal.

It’s probably a bit late for many of you who have already purchased everything you need — or who are just letting others take care of that for you — for Thursday, but it is a good illustration of how competitive the market has become for America’s grocery shoppers. It also shows once again how important it is to comparison shop before one makes assumptions about prices based on a store’s size.

Target Turkey Dinner Costs Less Than Wal-Mart [Bloomberg]

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