Online item prices fell 1.6% in December! The slowdown in US inflation has become more obvious!

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 December 2022, prices in the US online retail market fell 1.6% from the same period last year and rose 1.1% from the previous month. US online prices have fallen month-on-month for the fourth consecutive month, and prices in half of the 18 categories have fallen.

Online price declines in December were driven by holiday discounts, including continued strong deals following Cyber ​​Week. Online prices for computers fell sharply, down 16.2% year-over-year and up 2% month-over-month. Prices for electronics rose 12% year-over-year and up 1.9% month-over-month. Prices also fell for appliances (down 2.1% year-over-year and up 3.8% month-over-month), toys (down 7.1% year-over-year and flat month-over-month), and sporting goods (down 5.9% year-over-year and up 1% month-over-month), driven by holiday discounts.

Falling prices led to an increase in consumer demand, and in December, U.S. e-commerce sales reached $95.1 billion, up 5.8% year-on-year. Inflation in some non-promotional categories (products lacking large discounts) continued to cool in December, such as food and personal care, where growth rates declined.

Data shows that in December, in the 18 categories tracked by DPI, 9 categories saw year-on-year price declines. The flowers/related gifts category saw the largest decline. There were 10 categories with price increases, including worker care, office supplies, home and bedding, pet supplies, food and groceries, over-the-counter drugs, tools and home improvement, medical equipment and supplies, and clothing.

In addition, compared with November, prices fell in six of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI, and rose in 12 categories, including electronics, personal care, office supplies, jewelry, books, home and bedding, food and groceries, over-the-counter drugs, tools and home improvement, appliances, computers and sporting goods.

Important categories in the Adobe Digital Price Index in December:

Home appliances: Prices fell 2.1% year-on-year and rose 3.8% month-on-month, marking the second consecutive month of synchronized declines (down 2.9% year-on-year in November). Previously, prices in this category had risen for 30 consecutive months and peaked in December 2020 with a year-on-year increase of 7.1%.

Electronic products: Prices fell 12% year-on-year and increased 1.9% month-on-month. Prices in this category fell 13.4% year-on-year in the previous month, setting a record high. As the category with the highest share of expenditure (accounting for 18.6% in 2021), price changes in electronic products have a significant impact on the overall inflation level.

Food and groceries: Prices increased by 13.5% year-on-year and 0.5% month-on-month. Inflation in this category has slowed over the past three months. From January (5.8% year-on-year price increase) to September (14.3% year-on-year price increase), this category set new records every month. However, prices in this category began to loosen up in October, with a year-on-year increase of 14%, and continued to slow in November, with a year-on-year increase of 13.7%.

Personal Care: Prices increased 1.6% year-over-year and up month-over-month. The category hit a high for the year in October 2022, when prices increased 3% year-over-year. Following November’s 1.8% year-over-year increase, price gains in the category slowed for the second consecutive month.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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