We went to Walmart to find out how far grocery prices are falling - and we were shocked by what we found
Food prices have declined for nine straight months in the US, marking one of the longest stretches of food deflation in 50 years.
We went to Walmart to find out just how far prices have fallen at the No. 1 grocery store in the US.
We compared the prices of 34 items at a store in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday to the prices of the same items at the same store in December 2015.
The result? The basket of groceries is now 10% cheaper than it was nine months ago.
The basket total in September was $104.17. In December 2015, the same items cost $114.86.
Some of the products' package sizes have changed over the last year, so we calculated those differences into the final price.
We found the biggest price drops among the eggs (down 67% to 82 cents for one dozen eggs); goat cheese (down 56% to $1.99 for 4 ounces); pineapples (down 41% to $1.75 per fruit); almonds (down 37% to $5.13 for 12 ounces); peanut butter (down 28% to $3.14 for 40 ounces); and extra virgin olive oil (down 23% to $2.98 for 17 fluid ounces).
The prices of ground beef and chicken also fell considerably, dropping 8% and 11% respectively.
Some items cost considerably more than in December 2015, such as 2-liter bottles of Coca-Cola (up to $1.48 from $1 per bottle in December) and canola oil (up to $2.88 for a 48-fluid-ounce bottle from $1.98 in December).
Walmart likely increased prices on those items to offset the plunging costs of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. Since August 2015, prices of those items have dropped 6.5%, representing the biggest drop of any food group in that period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
We reached out to Walmart to find out why some prices have risen while others have fallen. The company was not immediately available for comment.
Here's a full list of Walmart's prices, adjusted for varying package sizes:
