Scripps News: Why Grocery Prices Still Feel So High and How Technology Can Help

Grocery prices may have stopped rising as quickly, but that doesn't necessarily mean grocery shopping feels cheaper.

A recent Scripps News report looked at why grocery bills remain a major financial pressure for American households and how technology can help shoppers find lower prices. CartHappy founder John Laramie was featured in the story, explaining how price comparison tools can help consumers navigate constantly changing grocery prices.

Grocery bills remain higher than before

According to research from Motley Fool Money featured in the report, the average American household spent $677 per month on groceries in 2025 — 31% more than in 2019.

Even though grocery prices were relatively stable between July and August and were up 2.2% year over year, shoppers are still paying significantly more than they did before the pandemic.

For many families, that means finding ways to save has become part of their regular grocery routine.

Grocery prices can change constantly

One of the challenges for shoppers is that prices aren't fixed.

Retailers can change prices depending on products, promotions, supply and other market conditions. That means the store that offers the best price for your grocery cart one week may not be the cheapest option the next.

As John Laramie explained in the Scripps News report, grocery shopping is something people do every week, making price changes particularly noticeable for household budgets.

Price cuts don't always mean your whole cart is cheaper

Some retailers have introduced price cuts on hundreds of products, but a lower price on selected items doesn't necessarily mean the entire grocery cart is cheaper.

A shopper might find a great deal on certain products at one store while paying more for other items in the same cart.

That's why looking at the whole cart can be more useful than simply looking for individual discounts.

CartHappy helps compare the whole cart

CartHappy is a free, AI-powered Chrome extension that compares grocery prices across participating retailers while you shop online.

Instead of manually opening multiple grocery websites and checking every product, CartHappy analyzes your cart and looks for opportunities to save.

Depending on your shopping list, CartHappy can tell you when your current store already has the best overall prices — meaning there's no reason to make another stop.

But when another retailer has significantly cheaper prices, CartHappy can show you the potential savings and recommend splitting your cart between two or more stores.

Turning changing prices into potential savings

This is one of the main challenges CartHappy is designed to solve.

Grocery prices can change frequently, but shoppers don't have the time to constantly check different stores before every shopping trip.

CartHappy brings that comparison directly into the shopping experience.

If your cart could be cheaper somewhere else, CartHappy helps you see where the savings are. If splitting your cart could save you 10%, 15% or even 20%, it can highlight that opportunity.

It can also automatically apply available coupons at participating retailers, giving shoppers another way to reduce their total.

Making grocery shopping more efficient

Not every shopping trip requires visiting multiple stores.

Sometimes the best option is simply to stay where you are.

The goal of CartHappy is to help shoppers understand the difference — when it's worth switching or splitting your cart, and when the savings aren't significant enough to justify the extra effort.

That means shoppers can make their decision based on the actual prices in their cart rather than assuming one store is always cheaper.

Featured in Scripps News

We're excited to see CartHappy featured in Scripps News as part of the conversation around rising grocery costs and the technology helping consumers navigate them.

Grocery prices may continue to fluctuate, but shoppers don't have to manually track every change.

CartHappy helps turn constantly changing prices into actionable information, making it easier to understand where and when to shop for a better deal.