I’m wondering if you’d try an inflation experiment with me?
As many grocery prices have risen – some of them drastically – I was hoping you’d try an inflation experiment with me so we can learn more together about how to save the most as we work to feed our families well.
First, have you seen this floating around social media?
This person took a screen shot of a Walmart purchase from January, 2020 which cost a total of $70.29. Then, she put all of those items back into her cart – and look at her total in 2024! Yikes, it went from $70.29 in 2020 to $165.42 in 2024. That’s a 135.6% increase!!
No wonder people are so discouraged. The increase in these food costs is outrageous!
Is this accurate for all groceries everywhere?
We can only see a small photo snippet of the items this person purchased – chips and cereal. So I don’t know what else was in her order that costs so much more now than it did four years ago.
After seeing the above Facebook post, I was intrigued and decided to look into my past Walmart purchases to see if my findings were the same as what the above poster had found.
The earliest Walmart pickup order I can find in my purchase history is July 2021. I know some prices had already increased by then. So I did further research to learn that the biggest hike in grocery prices happened in 2022, so I feel like my findings are still accurate.
Here’s my July 2021 screen shot:
Brace yourself.
Are you ready to see what happened when I clicked “Reorder All” on my July 2021 order, today in July 2024?
I held my breath and then THIS:
July 2024
My cart went from $264 in 2021 DOWN to $235 in 2024.
One part of this result is that two items weren’t available (64 items were in my 2021 order and only 62 items in my 2024 order).
Half of the contents in my cart were fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables – extra encouraging that those healthy item prices are the same, lower, or barely higher. Other items included bagels, coffee creamer, buns, cheese, yogurt, meat, taco shells – basic household items/ingredients to put together meals.
My experiment continued…
I wondered if it was a fluke or if I’d just gotten lucky and picked an order that “just so happened” to go down instead of up. So I went back to other 2021 orders and did the same thing.
Every time, same result: My 2024 prices went down just a bit.
For one order that was almost entirely fresh and frozen fruits and veggies my order went up from $112 in 2021 to $114 in 2024 – so just a slight $2.00 increase in three years….
Why are my results so different?
I believe the difference might be in what food we are choosing to purchase. Across the board, there seem to be price increases in just about everything. But maybe fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables and basic cooking ingredients haven’t shifted as much. That’s what I’m gleaning as I continue to compare my Walmart pick-up orders.
But I want to hear from YOU! I feel like my results don’t give a big enough picture of what’s going on for everyone everywhere. Especially since my experiment began in 2021 (though again, it seems that the biggest price increases began in 2022).
Try an Inflation Experiment With Me?
If you have been enjoying pick up orders from any grocery store since 2020 or 2021, would you take a look at your Purchase History and try adding all the items from older orders into a new order to compare the cost?
Then take a look at the items you bought to see which products have increased the most?
I found that this experiment hasn’t taken much time – but it has been very helpful as I continue to make grocery purchasing decisions so that I can save the most money possible during this time of inflation.
TIP: When I was looking at my previous purchases, I was able to simply click on the “Reorder All” button and every item from my old cart automatically went into my new cart so that I could quickly compare prices from 2021 to 2024.
Let’s help each other save more money!
I’m hoping that if many of us conduct this experiment, we can all get a better picture of how we can most wisely shop for groceries. Hopefully we’ll learn:
- What product prices have increased the most?
- What products should we avoid in order to save more money?
- What items haven’t been as drastically affected by inflation?
- Are there shopping habits I can change so that I can save more money?
- Which products give us the most bang for our buck?
Together, friends, we’re going to get through this inflation frustration! Thank you for being willing to try this experiment with me. :)
