Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

Are prices down from last year? I'll pull the latest store and inflation data to check.

No - in aggregate, store prices are higher than a year ago, not lower. Inflation has slowed from the 2022 peak but remains positive, meaning prices are still rising year-over-year.

Overall consumer prices:

Grocery / store prices specifically:

The misconception is explained as:

> 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-at-home prices, which include groceries purchased at supermarkets, continue to rise in 2026.

Cumulative context:

Some individual categories did see year-over-year declines in August 2026, so some specific store items are cheaper than a year ago, but not the basket as a whole:

Retailers like Aldi have advertised that nearly one-third of the store’s everyday assortment is now priced lower than it was last year, but that is a promotional price cut on select items, not the national average.

In short: prices in stores are not lower than a year ago on average — they are about 2-3% higher for food and 3.4% higher overall — though the rate of increase has slowed sharply from the 9.1% peak in 2022 and from the double-digit grocery inflation in 2022.