Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

Are store prices lower than last year? I'll pull the latest inflation figures to check.

No — overall, prices in stores are still higher than a year ago, not lower. Inflation has slowed from the peak in 2022, but prices continue to rise year-over-year.

In August 2026, the Consumer Price Index rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months
. That matched the 3.4 percent increase for the 12 months ended July 2026 and was slightly slower than the 3.5 percent increase from June 2025 to June 2026.

The August report noted:

> In August, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted (SA), and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months

Core CPI (all items less food and energy) was up 2.4 percent over the year.

One of the biggest misconceptions about inflation is that lower inflation means prices are falling. In reality, it usually means prices are still increasing, just at a slower pace.

Food prices rose 3.0 percent over the year ended June 2026, with food at home prices rising 2.7 percent.

Other data show the same trend:

> Food-at-home prices were 2.7% higher in June 2026 than one year earlier

and

> Food-at-home prices were 2.7% higher in June 2026 than one year earlier

The USDA currently expects grocery prices to rise an average of 2.7% for the full year — slightly faster than their 20-year historical average, and that relief still means “rising more slowly,” not “getting cheaper.”

In other words, slower inflation did not undo anything - it means the same expensive groceries continued becoming more expensive — just at a speed that caused slightly fewer heart palpitations.

Yes — for a few specific items, year-over-year prices have fallen, most notably eggs:

CPI food categories with the strongest 12-month movements, August 2026: Eggs, −23.0 percent

Other reports noted retail egg prices plummeted 27.9 percent year-over-year by June, after an avian influenza-driven spike in 2024-2025.

But the average grocery basket as a whole is still up sharply over time — the government's food-at-home index rose from 238.430 in June 2016 to 321.631 in June 2026 — an increase of almost 35% — and it continues to increase year-over-year in 2026.

So while you may pay less for a few items like eggs compared to the unusually high prices a year ago, total store receipt totals are on average 2-3% higher than a year ago, not lower.