Are Local Grocery Stores Losing Business Because of AI This Thanksgiving Weekend?
This year, more consumers than ever before will turn to AI for help with their Thanksgiving Day meal, and we want to know whether local businesses will appear alongside big chains in their responses.
We asked the top platforms by usage the same question: “I live in Seattle, and I’m hosting Thanksgiving for 10 people this year. Where should I shop for the best deals?”
The Seattle Grocery Landscape
Before we dive in, it might be helpful to understand the Seattle-area grocery landscape at a high level:
Top grocery chains by market share: Fred Meyer, Safeway, Costco
Discount chains: Grocery Outlet, WinCo Foods
Popular chains considered slightly more premium: QFC, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, HMart
Local chains: Metropolitan Market, PCC Community Markets, Town & Country, and Ken’s Market
Where you shop is likely determined by your budget and where you live, but we’re curious to see what happens when AI gets involved.
Is AI as Biased as Google to Big-Budget Stores?
For years, small businesses have lamented that Google has become “pay-to-play.” Only brands with big budgets seem to rank highly in broad search. LLMs are just starting to incorporate advertising, but does that mean it’s a fairer landscape for local businesses?
We’re not so sure. So we did some brief qualitative research to see just what AI recommends for Thanksgiving shopping. Here’s what we found.
Findings: What Does AI Recommend for Thanksgiving Shopping?
ChatGPT Recommended Grocery Outlet
ChatGPT’s top recommendation was Grocery Outlet, citing a Seattle Times article from 2024 that said the chain was “by far the cheapest place for a Thanksgiving-style shopping list.” Other brands mentioned included big chains like WinCo, Fred Meyer, Safeway, and Costco.
Anthropic’s Claude Recommended Aldi
Claude says that Aldi offers the “best overall value”, referencing a recent Fox13 article about Aldi’s $40 deal for a full Thanksgiving meal. There’s just one problem: the nearest Aldi is in Fresno, California (over 900 miles away). Other brands mentioned included Fred Meyer, Safeway, WinCo Foods, and Grocery Outlet.
Google AI Recommended Walmart or Safeway
Google pointed to the budget-friendly meal kits and strong Thanksgiving promotions at Walmart and Safeway. It also recommended comparing prices for individual ingredients at multiple stores like Kroger or Target. Decidedly not specific to Seattle.
Perplexity Had the Most Balanced Answer
Perplexity offered a whole “game plan,” suggesting that I shop for my main turkey and core sides at big-box chains like Walmart, Target, WinCo, Costco, or Grocery Outlet. Then it suggested that I add fresh produce, bakery, and any special-diet items from local chains like Fred Meyer, QFC, Safeway, Albertsons, PCC, or Metropolitan Market.
This was the first and only mention of truly local chains like PCC and Metropolitan Market. These stores are marketed as more premium, with prices to match. Perplexity recommends stacking digital coupons and loyalty programs to make these stores more affordable.
Learnings from AI’s Thanksgiving-Related Sources
While smaller local chains were nearly absent from LLMs’ recommendations — at least for value-based questions — it’s interesting to note why:
Outdated Sources: All platforms referenced at least one article from 2024 as a top source. For example, this KIRO 7 News article appeared in almost every search.
Winning Content Structure = Bold Headlines + Relevance + Clear Hierarchy: The article above stood out to AI because it has a structured combination of bold headline (“Best Seattle-area turkey deals…”), obvious relevance (“Thanksgiving” and “Seattle” appear multiple times in the article), and a written list of the top deals in the area.
Third-Party vs. Owned Channels: LLMs more often cited third-party news outlets and user-generated sites (e.g. Reddit) than owned content. Safeway, QFC, and Fred Meyer were the only brands to break through with owned content — most often for their posts about weekly ad deals.
Notably, LLMs’ answers were not perfectly attuned to real local shopping trends. Our advice to local chains? Prioritize publishing localized content written for AI, especially during big-time shopping weekends.
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