Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

Checking current price trends — I'll compare today's store prices to a year ago.

No - prices in stores are generally still higher than a year ago, although the rate of increase has slowed and a few specific categories are slightly cheaper.

US - Overall inflation still positive

The Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by FMI – The Food Industry Association showed flat food-at-home inflation for August and a 2.2% increase over the last 12 months. The pace of year-over-year grocery inflation slowed to 2.2% from 2.7% last month.

Food at home is expected to rise 2.7% across the country this year.

A few categories are lower

Deflation is limited to specific goods and services:

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.

At store level there is variation. Across 14 stores tracked with a complete 20-item basket since August 2025, the average basket is up 7.6% over the past year, from $83.31 to $89.65. On the other end, QFC is actually cheaper than it was a year ago, down 8.2% — the largest single-store drop in the panel — followed by Trader Joe's (-4.4%) and Grocery Outlet (-3%).

UK / Other markets - same pattern: inflation slowing, not negative

Food inflation eased to 2.5 per cent in September from 2.8 per cent in August, while overall shop price inflation slipped to 1.4 per cent from 1.5 per cent.

In short: shoppers are not paying less than a year ago in the aggregate - prices are still up about 2-3% for groceries and about 3.4% overall in the US. What has improved is that monthly increases are small - food at home was unchanged during August and food at home holding steady from July - and inflation is decelerating. Retailers including Target reducing prices on nearly 2,000 products ahead of holiday season shows attempts to keep prices low despite rising cost pressures, but does not offset year-over-year increases.