Production, Supply Chain Issues Leading To Grocery Store Sticker Shock

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There is just no denying it. It's there in black and white on your grocery receipt -- we are paying more for food and it's impact family budgets.

Production and supply chain issues are driving the prices up, and even if the price isn't higher, you still may be paying more.

When a retailer is charged more for a product, chances are the price is going to go up for the consumer as well.

"Some companies have been eating those costs for a while, and I think now it's the point where they have to pass some of them along," said Jeff Inman, Associate Dean of the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Inman says it is a delicate balance for retailers.

Consumer advocate Mary Bach says sometimes the price is not what's changing.

"They are not actually raising the shelf price on the item, but we are paying more, because we are simply getting less in the container, and that is literally rampant right now," Bach said.

Bach says you should read carefully how much you are getting of an item and maybe reconsider your shopping habits.

Bach likes to say to 'eat the bargains,' focusing on times that are available seasonally and to purchase them where they're locally grown and sold at a very fair price.

If you have a bit of storage room and something is on sale, Bach says you can stock up on an item to get you through to the next time the item is on sale.

If you shop at stores like Costco or Sam's Club, Bach says that bigger isn't always better, especially if you don't use the item enough before it will go bad.

Experts say there is some level of optimism that this surge in food prices will come back down before the end of the year, barring another COVID shutdown.