Why Are Turkeys Cheap at Thanksgiving?

Judy Chevalier
The most basic applications of supply and demand would suggest that prices should be higher during periods of peak demand. However, we find that, for supermarket products, prices tend to be lower during periods of peak demand periods. The paper, "Why Don't Prices Rise During Periods of Peak Demand? Evidence from Scanner Data" suggests that "loss leader" pricing strategies of retailers can explain this seeming aberrant pricing behavior.