Receipt from 1980 reveals shopping trip would cost you today

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The prices on it were startlingly low. Just how low, you ask?

A dozen eggs cost just 69 cents, milk was 98 cents a litre, and a loaf of bread was $1.09.

The receipt, which was shared on Twitter, was from a supermarket in the US, although it is not stated which brand or chain it is. It was dated February 1980, which means the inflation calculator at dol.gov can be used to figure out what those prices would be in 2022.

Perhaps the most intriguing item on the bill was for a bottle of Coca-Cola, which at the time was sold for $1.09 – which is equivalent to $3.70 today.

That's not the only shockingly low price on the bill. A can of Pepsi, a snip at just 79 cents (or $2.89 today), and a packet of Keebler fudge cookies, which went for 89 cents (or $3.11).

While the bill does not reveal where the items were purchased, it's safe to say they would have been bought at a grocery outlet, as Walmart – the country's largest grocery retailer – didn't print prices on receipts as far back as 1980, according to The Washington Post.

The Coca-Cola price is the most startling, considering a 2020 study in the Journal of Economic Psychology determined that, between 2006 and 2016, the price of Coca-Cola in the US had increased by 32.8 percent, while the Consumer Price Index during that time rose by 19.8 percent.

Coca-Cola itself told the Herald that a number of factors – including "the recipe, packaging, distribution, the responsible and sustainable practices we have in place, and of course, consumer preferences" – play a role in how the company determines its prices for consumers.

"That being said, The Coca-Cola Company has a long history of pricing our products responsibly, giving consumers opportunities to try our various brands, while also balancing the needs of our business," a spokesperson said.

"We also recognize that inflation affects how consumers feel about their purchasing power and what products they choose to purchase, and we continue to monitor trends and consumer preferences closely."

When it came to Pepsi, a spokesperson for the company said their products – which include a variety of beverages – are sold by retailers, not PepsiCo direct.

"Thus, the prices for our products are determined by those retailers, who operate in a highly competitive marketplace.

"Our goal is to provide a strong offering of products and brands to satisfy our consumers and customers, and our retailers determine the pricing for those products."

Packaging is also a factor in price increases, a trend that has been exacerbated in recent years by higher commodity costs and transportation expenses, the Pepsi spokesperson said.

"This, in turn, becomes a cost that gets factored into the selling price of our products," they said.

As for the cookies, Kellogg's, which owns Keebler, did not return requests for comment from the Herald.

The receipt surfaced just as US President Joe Biden has taken steps to try to ease the impact of inflation on consumers, including a $1 trillion infrastructure bill aimed at unclogging supply chains, and a $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan aimed at investing in a transition to a clean energy economy.

Biden has also sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and instituted a number of stimulus measures aimed at helping Americans get through the Covid-19 pandemic, which helped to send the US economy into a temporary tailspin.

But the receipt is a reminder of a different era, when soda was under $2 and cookies were less than a dollar.