US online prices hit a record high at a 3.5 per cent year over year (YoY) increase, while prices are down by 2 per cent month over month (MoM) due to holiday discounts, according to the latest online inflation data for the month of November released by Adobe. This is the highest YoY increase since Adobe first began tracking the digital economy in 2014.

Apparel was a standout category with prices up by 17.3 per cent YoY and down by just 0.4 per cent MoM, reaching a record high of inflation. One dollar out of every four dollars is now spent online in the United States, making the digital economy a significant component of the overall economy, Adobe said in a press release.

Since 2014, only three months (August 2016, January 2020, February 2020) saw apparel prices rise online by 9 per cent or more YoY. For the past eight consecutive months, online prices for the category have risen by over 9 per cent YoY every month.

US online prices hit a record high at a 3.5 per cent year over year (YoY) increase, while prices are down by 2 per cent month over month (MoM) due to holiday discounts, according to the latest online inflation data for the month of November released by Adobe. This is the highest YoY increase since Adobe first began tracking the digital economy in 2014.

The Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI) provides the most comprehensive view into how much consumers are paying for goods online. The DPI covers more than 100 million products in the United States and is modeled after the consumer price index issued by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

“Ongoing supply chain constraints and durable consumer demand have underpinned the record high inflation in e-commerce, with apparel seeing high volumes of out-of-stock messages online compared to other categories,” said Patrick Brown, vice president of growth marketing and insights, Adobe.

“With offline prices surging in the Consumer Price Index, however, it is still cheaper to shop online for categories such as toys, computers and sporting goods,” he added.

In November 2021, 11 of the 18 categories tracked by the Adobe Digital Price Index saw YoY price increases. Apparel prices rose faster than any other category, while price drops were observed in seven categories: electronics, personal care products, office supplies, jewelry, books, toys and computers.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)