Are prices lower in stores compared to a year ago?

Your question on store prices vs a year ago — I'll pull the latest inflation and pricing data to compare.

No - in general, store prices are not lower than a year ago, although inflation has slowed and a few categories are lower.

For the U.S., which is the most recent official data:

A lower annual inflation rate is not the same as cheaper groceries than a year ago. Average food-at-home prices remained 1.8% above September 2025 despite the monthly decline.

In other words, prices dipped slightly from August to September (-0.1%), but are still about 1.8% higher than September 2025. Food-at-home prices are up 1.8 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual increase of 2026, but still an increase.

Broader trend since start of 2025:
Grocery prices have increased 3.4% on average since January 2025, the month Trump took over from Biden, through August 2026. Five of the six overarching categories of grocery products tracked by the Consumer Price Index are up substantially since January 2025.

Why it may feel not lower:
Lower inflation alone does not mean prices have fallen. Calculations from Statistics Canada's monthly CPI indexes show food purchased from stores was about 0.4% cheaper in August than in July, before seasonal adjustment, and 2.8% more expensive than in August 2025.

Exceptions where some items ARE lower

Within the overall increase, some individual store categories did fall year-over-year:

So while eggs, dairy, bacon and some meats have seen outright deflation year-over-year, drinks (+3.8% annually), fruits and vegetables (+3.7% annually), cereals and bakery (+2.1% annually) and most other grocery groups are still higher than a year ago.

In a few other countries, store food prices were lower: In Switzerland, food and non-alcoholic beverages cost 1.0% less than in September 2025, but that is not representative of the U.S. or broader global CPI.