Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

Short answer: generally no.

•In the U.S., overall consumer prices were 3.7% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier (September 2025).[1]

•Grocery-store prices (“food at home”) were 1.8% higher year over year in September 2026.[1]

Some individual categories are lower (for example, used cars and trucks were down about 1.5% year over year), but that’s the exception, not the rule.[1]

If you have a specific type of store or product in mind, tell me and I can pull the latest figures for that category.

Citations (1)

1bls.govGovernment
Consumer Price Index News Release - 2026 M09 Results
Backs: “In the U.S., overall consumer prices were 3.7% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier (September 2025).”