There’s finally some relief for shoppers at the grocery store. Prices are keeping steady and even falling for certain items, but can this trend continue?
“I hate grocery shopping,” Jacquelyn Gaulin, of Wethersfield, said.
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WATCH HEREDealing with high prices has left many shoppers dreading going to the store.
“$6.19 for this bag. Right?” Gaulin said pointing to a bag of potato chips.
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SIGN UP It’s something she’s noticed over the past few months.
“It’s expensive, but everything seems to be so, just do what I have to do,” Gaulin said.
And we crunched the numbers for our area. For context, chicken breast last April was $4.98. This April, it was $5.44, a 9% increase according to the global marketing research firm NIQ.
But there’s some good news on the horizon with cooling inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says grocery prices rose by 2.8% in the last year, which is lower that what was projected by economists. Last month, there was a 0.1% decrease fueled by a nearly 13% drop in eggs thanks to measures combating avian flu.
James Mohs, a University of New Haven accounting and taxation professor says it’s an encouraging sign.
“Part of it's the economy. Part of it’s consumer confidence. The people are buying,” he said.
And he says there are ways for shoppers to be smart about spending, like looking for deals and shopping around for the best prices. He also says to pay attention to the unit prices of essentials.
“Small amounts of the rice might be $2.89, $3. One that has four or five ounces more may only be $3.25 or $3.40,” Mohs said.
He also urges people to cut back on anything extra in their budget, which was a tip one shopper says she’s following.
“We try to be very careful of the special things were picking and just try to stick to the basics,” Danielle Lirao, of Newington, said.
Professor Mohs also suggests people pay in cash instead of a card to really limit spending to what you need.
