Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

No, prices in stores are generally still higher than a year ago — not lower

Overall, prices are up, not down, compared to a year ago, though the picture varies a lot by specific item and category.

Overall inflation (U.S.)

According to the latest BLS data, the headline annual inflation rate held at 3.4% for the 12 months ending in August, unchanged from July. Core inflation (excluding food and energy) was a bit lower: core inflation rose 2.4% over the 12 months through August — the lowest core inflation rate since March 2021.

Looking specifically at everyday retail purchases, prices for everyday household purchases decreased 0.1% in August following a 0.4% decrease in July and a 0.6% increase in June, and in August, prices for everyday goods are up 2.2% versus a year ago, down from 2.6% in July. So the rate of increase is slowing, but prices are still higher than a year ago overall.

Groceries: a mixed bag

Grocery/food-at-home prices tell a similarly mixed story:

Some items ARE cheaper — but they're the exception

Interestingly, roughly a quarter of tracked items have actually dropped in price: of the nearly 400 items that BLS tracks, roughly 3 out of every 4 items (76 percent) increased in price between July 2024 and July 2025, while 1 in 4 (25 percent) were cheaper in July than they were a year ago.

Eggs stand out as the biggest decline: eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, bread and chicken were all cheaper as of January 2026 than a year prior, with egg prices decreasing the most (-48.0%), followed by tomatoes (-12.6%), potatoes (-10.5%), bread (-4.3%), and chicken (-1.0%). More recently, the average price of eggs have declined from a spring 2025 peak and are now down 31% since Trump took office last year.

But other grocery items have surged: the cost of tomatoes is up 12.8% year over year, while apples cost 11% more in July 2026 than they did in July 2025, and instant coffee is up 15.8% year over year, roasted coffee up 12.2%, and coffee overall up 9.4%. Beef products also rose sharply: beef roasts (up 13.5%), steaks (+9.6%), and ground beef (+9%) all posted increases over the past year.

Bottom line

While a handful of specific items (notably eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, bread, and chicken) are cheaper than a year ago, most goods overall — and food/grocery prices in general — remain higher than a year ago, even though the pace of price increases has slowed compared to the peak inflation years of 2021–2022.