While official government measurements show inflation appears to be cooling, food prices are still rising, according to the ConsumerAffairs-Datasembly Shopping Cart Index, which measures changes in supermarket prices in real time.
The price of cheese, eggs and dairy saw a slight decline over June but grocery prices ticked slightly higher. However, compared to July 2022 current food prices in all categories but eggs are higher across the board.
Using Datasembly's exclusive Grocery PriceIndex (GPI), the ConsumerAffairs-Datasembly Shopping Cart Index assigns each category and product with a number. The higher the number the more the average price for a particular category.
The index number refers to the point increase in the product or category since Datasembly began tracking prices in 2019, with a baseline of 100.
The Index also tracks price changes in 25 commonly purchased supermarket products on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. The price increase of these items from June to July was less than 1%. However, the year-over-year total price of the shopping cart is up 4.5%, with coffee, cookies and bread registering the largest price hikes.
The shopping cart
| Product | July 2022 | June 2023 | July 2023 |
| Penne Pasta 16 oz. | $1.85 | $1.95 | $1.94 |
| Select-a-size paper towels | $19.81 | $21.26 | $21.62 |
| White Albacore tuna in water 5oz. | $2.32 | $2.22 | $2.22 |
| Chicken noodle soup 10.75 oz. | $1.37 | $1.41 | $1.41 |
| Cola 2-liter bottle | $2.31 | $2.87 | $2.87 |
| Whole milk half gallon | $2.99 | $2.89 | $2.89 |
| Whole bean coffee 12 oz. | $15.5 | $14.69 | $15.46 |
| Organic eggs one dozen | $5.20 | $5.66 | $5.52 |
| Waffles 10 ct. 12.3 oz. | $2.92 | $3.20 | $3.21 |
| Frosted donuts 8 ct. | $5.03 | $5.26 | $5.26 |
| Tomato ketchup 20 oz. | $3.35 | $3.88 | $3.89 |
| Mayonnaise 30 oz. | $6.03 | $5.81 | $5.86 |
| Honey Nut cereal 18.8 oz. | $5.24 | $5.55 | $5.55 |
| American cheese single 24 ct. | $5.51 | $5.51 | $5.52 |
| Salted butter 1 lb. | $5.64 | $5.40 | $5.40 |
| Classic potato chips 8 oz. bag | $3.68 | $4.11 | $4.11 |
| Honey wheat bread 20 oz. | $3.48 | $3.71 | $3.79 |
| Cookies 14.3 oz. | $4.36 | $4.63 | $4.64 |
| Bacon 16 oz. | $8.36 | $6.96 | $6.95 |
| Liquid dish detergent 46 oz. | $4.99 | $5.58 | $5.59 |
| Spring water 16.9 oz. 32 ct. | $6.29 | $7.52 | $7.52 |
| 1000 sheet toilet paper 12 ct. | $11.30 | $12.21 | $12.21 |
| Peanut butter 16.3 oz. | $2.93 | $3.01 | $3.01 |
| White rice 32 oz. | $4.77 | $5.16 | $5.17 |
| Laundry detergent 96 oz. | $13.17 | $13.09 | $13.09 |
| Cart Totals | $147.95 | $153.54 | $154.70 |
States with the biggest and smallest moves
The Index shows there are regional variations in grocery prices that consumers paid in July. While no state saw a decrease in grocery prices in the last 12 months, here are the states where prices increased the most:
West Virginia +11.7%
Vermont +11.1%
Pennsylvania +10%
Maine +9.6%
New Hampshire +9.2%
Here are the five states with the smallest grocery price increase over the last 12 months:
North Carolina +5.5%
New Mexico +5.9%
Nevada +6.3%
Virginia +6.5%
South Carolina +6.5%