Prices up or down

With the tough economic times we are in with gas prices soaring and making everything more expensive it is taxing our disposible income. What do you find when you are shopping are prices more or less expensive in your opinion. I work in retail and I shop the competition regularily you might find things I've discovered surprising. Grocery items available at grocery stores have risin approx 10-15% in the last year where as items of a Hard good nature, cleaning supply, hardware etc have not gone up. I discovered some surprise, everyone believes Walmart to have the lowest prices and for sure on some items they do, those of a highly visible nature like tide or water, items you buy everyday would be less but it's the unordinary items you might not shop around for that are surprising. Example 30' of building electrical wire exact same package Walmart 29.99 - Zellers 9.99 not a sale, regular price on the shelf everyday. Be careful when shopping, give me your opinion or examples, I'd love to hear your opinion.