Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

It's a mixed picture — prices overall are not lower than a year ago, but some specific items at the grocery store are cheaper while others are more expensive.

Overall inflation is still positive (prices rising, not falling):
The U.S. annual inflation rate accelerated to 3.7% in September 2026, up from 3.4% in each of the previous two months, driven largely by a jump in gas prices. So on average, the cost of a broad basket of goods and services is still higher than it was a year ago — prices simply aren't falling across the board.

At the grocery store specifically, it's a split story:

Outside groceries, things diverge too:
Energy costs have reversed course — gasoline rose 9.1 percent in September, accounting for over half of the monthly all items increase, so gas is notably more expensive than it was earlier this year, even though gasoline had been down over the prior year at one point.

Bottom line: Overall store prices are still higher than a year ago, not lower — inflation has just been slowing in some categories (like groceries) while reaccelerating in others (like energy). A handful of specific grocery items (eggs, butter, dairy, some meats) are genuinely cheaper than last year, but the broader basket of goods — and the economy-wide CPI — remains above where it was 12 months ago.