See also: Grocery stores. Prices went up "due to COVID". Prices will never come down again.
(I've no doubt the supply chain was a mess for a hot minute, but years later?)
(I've no doubt the supply chain was a mess for a hot minute, but years later?)
examples include eggs for $2.99 in some places (!), and other competitive categories like unbranded meat and cheese, pasta, and more.
prepared foods seem to be slower, I'm assuming because labor costs continue to rise.
I also have anecdata, my grocery bill has not come down from pandemic times. Things like eggs are definitely more expensive.
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5539547/grocery-prices-...
> What's the item? Groceries
> How has the price changed since before the pandemic?
> Up 29% since February 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The statistic you cite does not necessarily contradict what the parent comment is saying. "Up 29% since February 2020" is an absolute change since a specific point. The parent comment is saying prices have "come down" i.e. since their peak. It can still be up overall, so long as it's not up as high as it was at one point.
EDIT: To be clear, the parent comment might still be wrong, or might be right only within a biased sample (i.e. their own experience). I'm only making the point that the statistic you're referencing does not outright disprove what they're saying. Prices can be up since six years ago AND down since two years ago (random time periods chosen for illustration only).
At no point has the US entered deflation so far this millennium.
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/economics/deflation
Of course this is talking about the overall price level. The prices in specific sectors can fluctuate independently of that. Food and energy in particular are excluded from core inflation because they're especially volatile.
Just like food prices didn't just jump one day, they won't just drop one day. We target 2% inflation, so they'll still go up, but slower.
Going up slower than wages means better affordability.
[0] https://collabfund.com/blog/the-fed-isnt-printing-as-much-mo...
The money printer was also going brr. And that is probably the cause for some of the inflation.
So if retailers tried to lower prices to pre-COVID levels then they would fail. The Fed would see the falling prices and cut rates until 2% inflation was achieved.