Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

Are store prices down from a year ago? I'll check the latest inflation data.

No, - in general prices in stores are higher, not lower, than a year ago. What has come down is the rate of inflation, not price levels.

U.S. official data:

> The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending September 2025, after rising 2.9 percent over the 12 months ending August

Other reports summarized the same Bureau of Labor Statistics release as:

> Consumer prices rose 3.0% in September from a year ago, slightly below forecasters' expectations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

For everyday goods in stores specifically:

> prices for everyday goods are up 2.1% versus a year ago, essentially flat relative to the year-over-year rate in August

> Prices for everyday household goods are up 34.0% since January 2018 and are up 2.1% over the past 12 months

Grocery:

> Grocery prices have increased 3.4% on average since January 2025, the month Trump took over from Biden, through August 2026, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the federal Consumer Price Index.

> The ConsumerAffairs Datasembly Shopping Cart Index shows that grocery prices ... That’s down 0.9% month over month from September’s $152.21, but still up 3.6% year over year compared to October 2024’s $145.64

That overall increase hides some variation:

> No other grocery product or product category has fallen even a third as much as eggs have during this presidency.

Exceptions are isolated, like a Wells Fargo analysis finding a typical Thanksgiving dinner in 2025 around 2% to 3% less than the previous year, but that does not represent the overall basket.

In short, you are paying more at the register than a year ago, just not as much more than during the high inflation of 2022-2023.