Online item prices fell 1% in January! US inflation slowed further!

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 January 2023, prices in the US online retail market fell 1% from the same period last year and rose 1.7% from the previous month. US online prices have fallen month-on-month for the fifth consecutive month, and prices in half of the 18 categories have fallen.

U.S. online spending rose slightly in January, up 1.7% year-over-year to $72.2 billion, as rising living costs made consumers more cautious about discretionary spending. Slowing consumer demand is prompting retailers to lower prices and continue to clear out excess inventory.

The data showed that in recent months, price growth has slowed in some categories that have been experiencing persistent inflation, including food and groceries, tools and home improvement, and pet supplies. In addition, prices in the categories that have led inflation, including electronics, toys and computers, home/garden, household appliances, and sporting goods, continued to fall year-on-year.

In January, nine of the 18 categories tracked by DPI saw a month-on-month price decline. Flowers/related gifts saw the largest decline. Nine categories saw month-on-month price increases, including personal care, office supplies, furniture/bedding, pet supplies, groceries, over-the-counter drugs, tools/home improvement, medical equipment/supplies, and clothing. In addition, compared with the same period last year, only one of the 18 categories tracked by DPI saw a price decline, while 17 categories saw price increases.

Important categories in Adobe's Digital Price Index in January:

Home & Garden: Prices fell 3.5% year-over-year and rose 1.2% month-over-month, marking the third consecutive month of year-over-year declines (-2.7% year-over-year in December and -2.1% year-over-year in November). Previously, prices in this category had risen for 14 consecutive months, peaking in December 2020 with a year-over-year increase of 2.7%.

Sporting goods: Prices fell 6.4% year-on-year and rose 0.6% month-on-month, hitting a new year-on-year low since 2014. Starting from May 2022, prices in this category have decreased every month, and before that, prices had increased for 28 consecutive months.

Food and groceries: Prices increased by 12.6% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month, and inflation levels slowed down. Prices in this category have been falling over the past four months. In September 2022, prices in this category peaked at 14.3% year-on-year, and in October they increased by 14% year-on-year, in November by 13.7% year-on-year, and in December by 13.5% year-on-year.

Tools and Home Improvement: Prices increased 6.9% year-over-year and 0.1% month-over-month, and prices in this category have been decreasing month-over-month since peaking in August 2022. The slowdown in price increases is good news for consumers, as this category has seen sustained inflation for more than two years (26 months).

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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