Grocery Prices Are Set to Shift Again in 2024—Here’s What to Expect

If you’re sick of being blindsided by inflated price tags at the grocery store, you’re not alone—volatile prices and frequent shortages made 2023 a tough year for food shoppers. Though pandemic-era inflation eased slowly this year, certain products still spiked in price, leaving families to improvise their weekly shops. Plus, global conflicts and extreme weather events made certain foods more expensive or increasingly sparse throughout the year.

As the new year approaches, it’s best to be prepared for whatever prices come your way. We all want to save money where we can, after all! We spoke with an agricultural economist to see what 2024 might bring for your favorite foods. Here’s everything you need to know about 2024 grocery prices, and how to best prepare for what the new year has in store.

So many factors go into determining the prices you see in the grocery aisle, and they can be quite difficult to predict. But there are some indicators that experts look to when calculating how much you might spend on everyday essentials down the line. Dr. David P. Anderson, a professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University, says that every cost, from production to consumption, impacts prices—think transportation, labor, energy costs, interest rates, and more.

The overall economy impacts food costs as well. Inflation peaked in the United States in June 2022, reaching the highest level in 40 years, and since then, numbers have dropped (slowly, but surely). Despite inflation moderating, many prices are still higher than usual, and spending power isn’t quite back on track. Anderson says that inflation is a “large part” of heightened food prices, making an impact that’s worsened by high interest rates and extreme weather