US inflation continues to slow, with online prices falling 1.7% in March

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), in March 2023, the prices in the US online retail market fell by 1.7% compared with the same period last year, marking the seventh consecutive month of year-on-year decline, with prices falling in 10 of the 18 categories. On a monthly basis, online prices in March were basically the same as the previous month, with only a slight increase of 0.03%.

The year-over-year price decline in March was driven by large declines in discretionary categories, with electronics and toys posting the largest declines. Declines were also seen in categories such as home furnishings, appliances, home/garden products, and furniture/bedding.

Some categories that have been experiencing persistent inflation have also seen year-over-year price increases slow in recent months, including food and groceries, personal care, and apparel.

In March, prices fell month-over-month in 10 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI. The largest drop was in the flowers/related gifts category. Prices rose year-over-year in eight categories, including personal care, office supplies, pet supplies, groceries, over-the-counter drugs, tools/home improvement, medical equipment/supplies, and apparel.

On a month-over-month basis, prices also fell in 10 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI. Prices rose in eight categories: office supplies, jewelry, pet supplies, groceries, over-the-counter drugs, appliances, medical equipment/supplies and apparel.

Categories to watch in February 2023:

Food and groceries: Prices rose 10.3% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month, but inflation in this category has slowed down. Prices in this category have been falling over the past six months. In February, prices rose 11.4% year-on-year, in January, they rose 12.6% year-on-year, in December, they rose 13.5% year-on-year, in November, they rose 13.7% year-on-year, and in October, they rose 14% year-on-year.

Personal care: up 4.4% year-on-year, down 1.5% month-on-month, lower than the 6.1% year-on-year increase last month. This category has risen for 16 consecutive months after a 0.9% year-on-year decline in November 2021. It is not difficult to see that inflation in this category persists.

Furniture and Bedding: Prices fell 0.9% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month, marking the second consecutive month of year-on-year decline (down 0.1% year-on-year last month). Prior to this, prices in this category had risen for 33 consecutive months, peaking in March 2021 (up 5.7% year-on-year).

Electronics: Down 12.9% year-over-year in March and down 1.3% month-over-month, prices in this category have fallen sharply in recent months. As a major discretionary category, prices for electronics continue to fall sharply, even after the holiday shopping season. In December, prices in this category fell 12.0% year-over-year, and in November, prices fell 13.4% year-over-year.

Clothing: Prices rose 6.6% year-on-year and 1.8% month-on-month. Despite the increase from the previous month, the price increase in this category has slowed down in recent months. In February, it rose 5.1% year-on-year, in January, it rose 5.1% year-on-year, and in December, it rose 0.9% year-on-year.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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