Declining for 12 consecutive months! Online prices in the United States fell the most in 40 months in August!

It is learned that Adobe recently released the latest inflation data for the US online retail market. According to the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI), US online prices fell 3.2% year-on-year in August 2023, reaching the lowest level in 40 months. At the same time, this is the 12th consecutive month that inflation data has fallen year-on-year. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis (compared with July), online prices rose 0.4% in August 2023. Adobe attributed this slight increase mainly to the Amazon Prime Day promotion in July, and the country's activities caused many retailers to slash prices to remain competitive.

The price decline in August was driven by sharp declines in categories such as electronics (down 11.6% year-on-year and down 0.8% month-on-month), computers (down 14.2% year-on-year and down 1% month-on-month), and sporting goods (down 7% year-on-year and down 1.4% month-on-month).

In August, 11 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI saw year-over-year price declines, with the flowers/related gifts category experiencing the largest decline, down 31.4% year-over-year. Seven categories saw year-over-year price increases: personal care, pet supplies, over-the-counter medicines, tools/home improvement, medical equipment/supplies, and apparel.

On a month-over-month basis, prices fell in six of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI. Prices rose in 12 categories, including personal care, jewelry, books, furniture/bedding, toys, home/garden, pet products, over-the-counter drugs, tools/home improvement, appliances, medical equipment/supplies, and apparel.

Noteworthy Categories in Adobe’s Digital Price Index for August

Grocery: Prices rose 5% year-over-year and fell 0.2% month-over-month. Over the past 11 months, the price increase in this category has slowed down month by month. In September 2022, the price of the grocery category peaked, up 14.3% year-over-year. According to Adobe data, as consumers increasingly buy groceries online, prices in this category generally move in sync with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Pet Supplies: Prices increased 5.5% year-over-year and 0.1% month-over-month, with price increases in this category slowing since the peak of 12.7% year-over-year price growth in August 2022. However, inflation in the pet supplies category persists over the long term, with prices increasing month-over-month every month since May 2020.

Household appliances: Prices fell 7.3% year-on-year and rose 1.3% month-on-month. Online prices for household appliances have now fallen month-on-month for 11 consecutive months, in stark contrast to the 29 consecutive months of increases that began in May 2020. Prices in this category peaked in December 2020 and reached their lowest point in June 2023.

Electronic products: down 11.6% year-on-year and down 0.8% month-on-month. Prices in this category have continued to fall sharply in recent months. They fell 11.7% year-on-year in July 2023 and 12.9% year-on-year in June 2023. As a major non-essential category, price changes in electronic products have a significant impact on overall inflation.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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