FLORENCE, Ky. — Several major retailers have recently announced price cuts to certain items in their stores.
Walgreens joined other stores like Target and Michael's, announcing its cutting prices on many items. The convenience store chain said it wants to lower the financial strain customers are experiencing.
Vitamins that were $13.49 are now $11.99. Hand cream that was $7.29 is now $5.99. And pretzels are down from $2.79 to $1.99.
“Walgreens understands our customers are under financial strain and struggle to purchase everyday essentials," said Tracey D. Brown, EVP, president, Walgreens retail and chief customer officer. "Through myWalgreens loyalty program, our more than 110 million members receive personalized offerings daily. Listening to our customers and offering quality products, value and convenience every day is our continued commitment.”
The reason stores are making these announcements is multifaceted, said Janet Hannah, Northern Kentucky University economist.
“Consumer spending has been slowing, so retailers are responding by trying to have sale prices to get people back in the store,” she said. “When consumer demand is down, when consumers stop spending, you as the supplier are going to lower your prices to get them back into the store to buy.”
The trend of special pricing replacing traditional coupons and discounts, as well as a lot of these being seasonal items are also factors, Harrah said.
She added shoppers hoping to spend less should not get their hopes up too high yet.
“Yes, some things at some retailers are going down, but it’s certainly not across the board,” Harrah said. “I think that the rate of inflation is slowing. We’ve seen that for several months now. That does not mean across-the-board price decreases are going to be on the horizon anytime soon.”
In categories like housing, insurance and health care, prices are still increasing in many cases. If the U.S. reaches a point where more staple items continue to go down in price, that’s another story, Harrah said.
“If we started to see across-the-board price declines, that would definitely bring the rate of inflation down quite rapidly," she said. "But again, there’s one big thing that’s probably going to keep that from happening. That is, once employers give you a raise, they’re not going to take it back."
"Unless you want to see wage rates go down again, you’re not going to expect to see across-the-board price decreases."
For now, shoppers can take comfort in knowing they’re saving 80 cents on potato chips, compared to a few weeks ago.
Harrah added she thinks the U.S. economy will be in somewhat of a holding pattern with no major corporate shifts until after the Nov. 2024 election.