Online prices in the United States have fallen for 11 consecutive months! These category trends are worth paying attention to...

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 July 2023, US online prices fell by 1.6% year-on-year, the largest drop since May 2020 (a year-on-year drop of 1.5%). At the same time, this is the 11th consecutive month that inflation data has fallen year-on-year. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis (compared with June), online prices fell by 0.9% in July 2023.

The price decline in July was driven by sharp declines in categories such as electronics (down 11.7% year-on-year and down 0.7% month-on-month), computers (down 15.4% year-on-year and down 1.5% month-on-month), appliances (down 8% year-on-year and down 0.3% month-on-month), and furniture/bedding (down 3.5% year-on-year and down 0.7% month-on-month).

In July, 11 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI saw year-over-year price declines, with the largest decline in the flowers and related gifts category, which fell 31.6% year-over-year. Seven categories saw year-over-year price increases, including personal care, pet supplies, groceries, over-the-counter drugs, tools/home improvement, medical equipment/supplies, and clothing.

On a month-over-month basis, prices fell in 16 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI. Prices rose in only two categories, including groceries and over-the-counter drugs.

Notable categories in Adobe’s Digital Price Index for July:

• Grocery : Prices rose 6.3% year-over-year and 0.3% month-over-month. However, price increases in this category have slowed over the past 10 months. Price increases in this category peaked in September last year, up 14.3% year-over-year. Adobe said consumers are increasingly buying groceries online, and prices in this category have generally moved in sync with the Consumer Price Index.

• Pet supplies : Prices rose 6.3% year-over-year and fell 0.1% month-over-month. The price increase in this category was lower than last month (June 2023), when prices rose 8.1% year-over-year. In August 2022, prices in this category rose sharply, reaching a peak of 12.7%. Since May 2020, prices in this category have risen month-over-month every month. In the long run, inflation in the US pet market persists.

• Home appliances : Prices fell 8% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month. Prices in this category hit a record low in June 2023 (down 8.3% year-on-year). After rising for 29 consecutive months starting in May 2020 and peaking at 7.1% year-on-year in December 2020, online home appliance prices have fallen year-on-year for 10 consecutive months.

• Electronics : Prices fell 11.7% year-on-year and 0.7% month-on-month. Prices in this category have fallen sharply in recent months. As a major discretionary category, price changes in electronics have a significant impact on overall inflation.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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