"On Special" is a monthly look at evolving store categories with insights on how different grocers are capitalizing on top trends.

Thanks to inflation, chicken sales are hot with price-sensitive shoppers. 

Chicken has long been a popular trade-down option when other meat prices have soared. A recent decrease in chicken prices has led to a heightened emphasis on affordable chicken meals.

According to the Consumer Price Index for April, prices for fresh and frozen chicken fell a little more than 1% from March to April while fresh whole chicken prices were flat, reversing increases for both from February to March. 

From rotisserie chickens to fried wing meals, grocers have an abundance of opportunities to promote the protein. Here’s a look at the latest sales data and how grocers are cooking up their chicken offerings

 Data insights

Chicken was among the few fresh meat offerings that saw year-over-year price drops in April: Fresh beef, pork and turkey; bacon; smoked ham; and breakfast sausages all saw their average price per pound increase. The average price per pound for fresh chicken was down 0.1% in April, to $3.09, compared to the same period last year, according to Circana data cited by 210 Analytics. 

Processed chicken, which has a higher average price per pound at $6.72, saw an even more dramatic reduction than fresh chicken with a roughly 3% year-over-year price decrease in April.

Last month, fresh chicken recorded strong sales growth with a 6% year-over-year increase to $1.5 billion, while processed chicken saw a nearly 4% decline to $58 million, according to Circana data. Combined, fresh and processed chicken sales accounted for roughly 21% of meat department sales.

Stand out grocers

Happy hour, but for ready-to-eat chicken

Some grocers are designating select days for discounted chicken in their prepared food sections. Harris Teeter recently rolled out a limited-time selection of $5 prepared food items on weekdays at certain stores in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, with eight pieces of fried and baked chicken as the star discount on Thursdays.

Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market offers $2 off classic and organic rotisserie chicken for Prime members on Tuesdays. Similarly, The Fresh Market has included its roasted whole chickens as part of its Thursday deals over the years.

Racking up points

Giant Food allows loyalty customers to redeem a set number of points for items like milk, eggs and rotisserie chickens, including a deal for rotisserie chickens. Customers can get a rotisserie chicken for 300 points, which translates into a discount because they would need more points to cover the $6.99 price, Ryan Draude, the grocer’s director of omnichannel loyalty and CRM, said in a recent interview.

Taking a page from restaurants’ playbooks

Why go to KFC or Popeyes when there are fried chicken meal options at the grocery store? Martin’s has a 12-piece “All Set! Meal Box” with fried chicken, King’s Hawaiian rolls, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and homestyle mashed potatoes. Publix’s deli aisle has a meal deal for under $10 that includes five fried chicken wings, choice of two sides and choice of either cornbread or King’s Hawaiian rolls. 

For customers willing to cook, some grocers are pulling ingredients into meal kit bags. Publix has two-serving chicken entree meal kits for under $15 with options like parmesan bow-tie chicken pasta and bacon cheddar chicken. Target’s meal kits include a chicken broccoli macaroni and cheese option and a chicken burrito bowl kit. Each can be ready in 10 minutes and makes at least three servings.

 What's trending?

Prepare for new shopping patterns

Given that Gen X and millennials shop differently than Boomers, FMI — The Food Industry Association recommended in its Power of Meat report this year that grocers get ready for a shift in customers making fewer but larger trips. For their meat items, that could mean stocking different pack sizes, offering variety packs like chicken and beef, and selling items in freezer-ready vacuum packaging with longer shelf lives.

“Address the shift in what consumers will be purchasing with an eye on convenience, cook time and knowledge, appliances used and resources consulted,” the report suggests.

Grocers can expect to grapple with diverging attitudes in brand loyalty. For fresh chicken, millennials have an above-average preference for manufacturer brands over store brands whereas Gen Z shoppers have a below-average preference, FMI found

Spicing up chicken in the deli aisles

In the deli aisle, Kroger’s Home Chef brand offers a variety of flavors for breaded chicken wings — plain, buffalo and barbecue — and whole chicken, such as lemon herb and garlic and herb. Publix has hot honey chicken tenders in its deli section. 

Prices on par with fast food chains can also catch consumers’ attention. Just look at Sprouts Farmers Market’s $5 deli sandwiches, which went viral in 2022. Harris Teeter included rotisserie chickens among its lineup of limited-time $5 deals on weekdays at select stores.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated when Giant Food began letting shoppers redeem a fixed number of loyalty points for certain items. The grocer announced that program in October 2022.