NPR conducted a price check of 114 items at a Walmart superstore in Liberty County, Georgia, revealing an average 5% increase in basket prices over the past year, as of December. This assessment highlighted the impact of inflation, tariffs, and climate events on consumer goods.
Price Changes Overview
Approximately half of the items surveyed became more expensive, including products like shrimp, Oreo cookies, Coca-Cola, and Dove soap. These increases were often linked to tariffs on goods from countries like China and Vietnam, as well as weather-related issues affecting harvests of crops such as cacao and coffee beans.
Conversely, just under a quarter of the items saw price reductions, notably eggs, milk, and Cheerios. Many packaged foods maintained their prices after previous periods of increases. Walmart reportedly increased discounts in response to consumer concerns about affordability.
Impact of Tariffs
Tariffs played a role in some of the most significant price jumps. Items such as Walmart's store-brand paper folders from China (up 46%), swai fish fillets from Vietnam (up 34%), and Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil (up 13%) experienced substantial increases. Dole cited both weather and tariffs for higher prices on canned pineapple from Southeast Asia. While Walmart had previously indicated tariffs would lead to higher prices, the company later reported less impact than initially expected.
Climate-Related Price Hikes
Several products, including coffee, beef, and chocolate, saw notable price increases due to climate-related factors and, in some cases, tariffs. Maxwell House Colombian coffee rose by 46%, while Hershey's and Lindt chocolates jumped around 26%. Ground beef prices increased by 30%, partly due to the U.S. beef supply being at its lowest in decades, influenced by drought. Companies like Kraft Heinz, Hershey, and Lindt & Sprüngli attributed these increases to unprecedented higher costs of key raw materials affected by erratic weather patterns and disease.
Shrinkflation Continues
Shrinkflation, where product size decreases while the price remains the same or increases, was observed with Tide laundry detergent. The volume of liquid in Tide bottles progressively reduced from 100 ounces pre-pandemic to 80 ounces by December, despite the label consistently promising 64 loads. Procter & Gamble, Tide's manufacturer, stated these changes were due to "meaningful upgrades" to the formula, providing "superior cleaning performance in a smaller dose."
Price Decreases and Discounts
Positive news included a 30% drop in egg prices, recovering from record highs caused by bird flu, and a nearly 16% decrease in butter prices due to increased dairy production. Brands like PepsiCo and General Mills announced plans to cut prices or offer more discounts, with Cheerios seeing a 19% reduction. Walmart itself implemented 13,000 discounts in the first three quarters of the year, with approximately 2,000 becoming permanent price cuts.