Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?
No, prices in stores are generally not lower compared to a year ago; they are modestly higher on average, though inflation has cooled significantly from earlier peaks, some specific items cost less, and retailers frequently offer discounts and promotions.[1]
Latest Official Data (U.S., primarily as of August 2026)
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the standard measure of price changes for goods and services that consumers buy, including in stores:
Energy prices have been more volatile and contributed to higher headline figures in some months (e.g., large YoY energy gains in mid-2026), while services like shelter also rose. Everyday household goods indexes have shown similar modest YoY increases (around 2%+ in recent months).[4]
Variation by Category and Item
Not everything moved the same way:
Retailers (Walmart, Target, Aldi, others) have repeatedly cut prices on thousands of items, run “rollbacks,” and increased promotions, especially on discretionary and everyday goods, in response to consumer price sensitivity. This has contributed to softer goods inflation or temporary deflation in some categories at times.[7]
Context and Longer-Term View
Bottom line: Store prices as a whole are higher than a year ago per official indexes, but the difference is relatively small for many grocery and goods categories, deals are widely available, and select items have dropped. For the most current figures, check the latest BLS CPI release, as data updates monthly. Individual shopping trips can feel different based on what’s in the cart and promotions.
Citations (7)
- https://www.bls.gov/cpi/latest-numbers.htm
Backs: “No, prices in stores are generally not lower compared to a year ago; they are modestly higher on average, though inflation has cooled significantly from earlier peaks, some specific items cost less, and retailers frequently offer discounts and promotions.”
- https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t01.htm
Backs: “Food at home (groceries/supermarket items): Up 2.2% (flat month-over-month in August in some readings).”
- https://www.bls.gov/news.release/charts/cpi-cpi_rc_1cpibycat.stm
Backs: “Commodities less food and energy (many non-food store goods): Up around 0.7% in recent data.”
- https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-trends-data/price-of-everyday-goods-drops-for-second-straight-month
Backs: “Everyday household goods indexes have shown similar modest YoY increases (around 2%+ in recent months).”
- https://betterreport.com/grocery-prices-going-down/
Backs: “Dairy and related products (slightly down ~0.3% YoY in one recent reading), eggs (often sharply lower YoY after avian flu recoveries, e.g., double-digit declines in some reports), some poultry/chicken, used cars/trucks, certain produce, and medical care commodities.”
- https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5241014
Backs: “NPR’s multi-year Walmart shopping cart tracking (earlier periods around 2024–early 2025) found average price changes near flat or under +1% over a year for a basket of items, with roughly half unchanged, some down, and some up—though still much higher than pre-pandemic levels (e.g., +25% over five years in one…”
- https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2024/12/18/2024-was-the-year-of-discounts-price-cuts-and-more-affordable-assortments
Backs: “This has contributed to softer goods inflation or temporary deflation in some categories at times.”