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Muse Spark 1.2Sep 16, 2026meta/muse-spark-1.2-20260805
Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?
No
I'll check whether store prices have fallen versus last year.
No - prices in stores are not lower overall than a year ago, they are higher. Inflation has slowed, but remains positive.
•The all items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending January 2026. Annual inflation in the US declined to 2.4% in January from 2.7% in December
•By August 2026, year-over-year inflation was still positive - the all-items index grew by 3.4%, matching the print from July.
•For groceries / food store purchases specifically:
•Food prices overall remain about 2.7% higher than a year ago
•Food at home was 2.9% higher 12-month percent change in Apr 2026 and 2.2% higher in Aug 2026
•The food-at-home CPI was 2.7 percent higher than in May 2025
There have been small short-term declines month-to-month, but not enough to make prices lower than last year:
•Grocery prices fell 0.4% last month. That's the largest drop since September 2020. The food-at-home index is still up 2% YoY
•The cost for food at home dropped in July, marking the first decrease since March - The decline was slight, 0.1%, and versus a year ago the price for groceries was still 2.7% higher
A few specific categories are lower than a year ago, while the average basket is higher:
•Consumers paid lower prices for used cars and trucks (−1.9 percent) and medical care commodities (−2.7 percent) in July 2026 compared with a year earlier
•Overall, Energy prices are down by 0.3% versus one year ago
Context: Grocery prices remain roughly 30% higher than they were in early 2020, so while the rate of inflation has eased, the level of prices has not fallen.