Walmart's CEO Doug McMillon just dropped some real talk about inflation. Yeah, it's cooled down to low single digits now, which sounds nice on paper. But here's the catch—he's pointing out that this "improvement" comes after years of price hikes stacking up across multiple categories.

So while the rate of increase might be slower, we're still living with those accumulated costs. It's like saying the fire isn't spreading as fast anymore, but your house already burned down. The relief feels pretty modest when you're shopping with a wallet that remembers what things used to cost.

For anyone tracking purchasing power and real yields, this perspective matters. Lower inflation doesn't automatically mean affordability is back.