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Muse Spark 1.2Sep 12, 2026meta/muse-spark-1.2-20260805
Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?
No
Are store prices down from last year? I'll pull the latest year-over-year inflation data to check.
No - overall store prices are still higher than a year ago, though the rate of increase has slowed. Specific items are cheaper.
Overall inflation is still positive year-over-year:
•The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 3.4 percent over the 12 months ended July 2026, after rising 3.5 percent for the year ending in June.
•In August 2026 the CPI was also up 3.4% since Aug 2025 - the index rose 0.4% in August after rising 0.1% in July.
•This is disinflation (slower inflation) not deflation (falling prices) - you need about 3.4% more dollars to buy the same basket as a year ago.
Breakdown by store categories:
•Prices for energy increased 14.7 percent, while food prices increased 3.0 percent. Prices for items other than food and energy rose 2.5 percent over the year.
•Energy rose 2.1% in August and is up 16.3% over the past year, gasoline jumped 3.9% over the month.
•The cost of food at home, a key measure of grocery prices, rose 1.9% over the past year. That was a slowdown compared to previous months and the first time grocery inflation had dipped below 2% since late 2025, but still higher than a year ago.
•Prices for everyday household purchases are up 1.8% over the past 12 months, after a 0.23% decline in January 2026 month-over-month - its first month-over-month decline in nearly a year.
Some individual items are cheaper than a year ago, which can make a specific shopping list look lower:
•Eggs prices were down 36.7% versus a year ago (August 2026), after large increases in prior years. Analysis also found 11 of 25 common grocery staples dropped in price over two years, led by eggs.
•The CPI report indicated lower prices than a year ago for both pork and chicken.
So while inflation has cooled from the 7-8% peaks seen in 2022-2023 and some staple foods are down, the average price level in stores is not lower than a year ago - it is about 2-3.5% higher depending on category.