You’re not imagining it. Grocery prices have really gone through the roof in recent years, even at Walmart. According to the USDA, grocery prices have increased 25% from 2019 to 2023.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that those in power say they’re ready to help. If you shop for groceries at Walmart, your bill is probably the same as the rest of the country, but that could soon change.

At Walmart’s second-quarter earnings call on August 15, Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon announced that while in-store grocery prices were “slightly inflated” at the end of the second quarter, overall they were “slightly deflationary,” down 30 basis points from the first quarter.30 basis points correspond to a change of 0.3%.

“We are lowering prices as far as value is concerned,” McMillon said. Across all categories, there were 7,200 price cuts, which is what Walmart calls its price cuts. In fact, McMillon announced in Walmart’s February earnings call: “In groceries, prices are lower than a year ago in areas like eggs, apples and deli snacks, but higher in other areas like asparagus and blackberries..” Their goal is to offer more of these items at a price that is affordable for every buyer.

McMillon also said on the August conference call that he is “aggressively pushing back against (cost increases)” and that brand-name suppliers who are still trying to raise their prices are doing so. Of course, this is not done out of charity. McMillon said he expects Walmart’s sales to rise 3.25% to 4.25% in the third quarter and a little more in fiscal 2025. It turns out that lower prices could be good for Walmart’s bottom line.

In the February conference call, John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart US, illustrated this concept well. “We brought the price of our French bread back down to $1 after it had been at $1 for a long time and then went up with inflation,” he said. “And we’re seeing that produce results, which are up about 40% year-over-year, so customers responded immediately. Rotisserie chicken is another example. The price went down by $1. Customers are responding.”

Walmart’s changes are entirely in keeping with the spirit of the times. Just ask the presidential candidates of the major US parties. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are campaigning on the promise of lowering food prices.

Harris says she will push for a federal ban on price gouging, which some economists say began when companies took advantage of supply chain problems at the height of the pandemic, a concept sometimes called “greedflation.”Meanwhile, Trump last week raised the alarm about what he called Harris’ “communist price controls.”.” His plan on food has so far been less specific, although he promises that lowering oil prices through domestic drilling “will bring down the prices of everything..”

Either way, things seem to be moving in the right direction for shoppers. In May, Target announced similar price cuts on 5,000 popular items, including milk, meat, bread and fresh produce. Hopefully, sticking to a smaller grocery budget will soon be easier, but the truth is, bargain hunting will never go out of style.