"Good Morning America" sounded the alarm on "sticker shock" at the grocery store on Friday, admitting that shoppers were better off four years ago before significant price hikes.
The ABC morning network program set up two tables to show the contrast between what Americans could purchase for $100 from March 2019-2020 versus March 2023-2024.
Co-host Michael Strahan let out an audible "Wow" when ABC News chief business, technology & economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis showed him the difference.
"You’re getting about 30% less these days for your money," Jarvis said. "$100 [of groceries] then would now cost you about $130."
Strahan suggested one of the ways Americans could attempt to "turn back time" is by utilizing apps that give cashback or compare prices across stores.
Jarvis also recommended that customers sign up for grocery store loyalty programs and only buy food in bulk if they can be sure they will burn through the purchased items before they go to waste.
"I’m a little surprised by how much you don’t get now that you got just, what, four or five years ago," Strahan said.
"It is such a contrast and that is how people are feeling it," Jarvis replied. "Inflation has come down, that means the prices aren’t going up as fast but it is a big difference from a few years back."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have risen 21% in the last three years.
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Food has been one of the most acute inflation pain points for Americans. More than two-thirds of voters say that inflation has hit them the hardest through higher food prices, according to a survey published by Yahoo Finance/Ipsos in November 2023. That is more than 50 percentage points higher than any other category, including gasoline, transportation costs and housing expenses.
Rising food prices are concerning because those higher costs affect just about every household in the country. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, who spend about 30% of their income on food, according to data published by the USDA.
In January, the cost of groceries increased for the 10th straight month. Grocery prices climbed 0.4% over the course of the month, faster than the overall 0.3% increase in inflation, according to the data. On an annual basis, food prices remain up 1.2% compared with the same time last year.
