Adobe: Online prices keep falling in April
E-commerce inflation continues heading in a positive direction.
According to the latest data from the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI), based on Adobe Analytics, U.S. online prices in April 2023 fell 1.8% year-over-year (YoY), marking the eighth consecutive month of YoY price decreases.
[Read more: Adobe: Online inflation falls again in March]
The majority of categories (11 of 18) tracked by Adobe saw falling online prices on an annual basis. On a month-over-month (MoM) basis, online prices fell 0.7% in April 2023.
Adobe data indicates that the overall YoY price decline observed in April 2023 was driven by notable drops in categories such as appliances, which fell 7.1% YoY (down 2.1% MoM), the largest YoY drop for the category since Adobe began tracking online prices in 2014.
Prices also continued to fall YoY in categories including sporting goods (down 6.4% YoY, up 1.5% MoM), toys (down 5.9% YoY, down 0.2% MoM), and home/garden (down 5.6% YoY, down 0.8% MoM). Steeper YoY declines occurred in electronics, which fell 11.6% YoY (up 0.5% MoM), as well as computers, which fell 15.4% YoY (up 1.9% MoM).
Although the grocery category has experienced persistent inflation as tracked by Adobe, YoY price increases slowed for seventh consecutive month in April 2023. Grocery prices rose p 9.3% YoY (up 0.4% MoM), a smaller jump compared with 10.3% YoY in March 2023 and 11.4% YoY in February 2023.
The rate of online grocery price growth peaked in September 2022, when prices rose 14.3% YoY.
The DPI analyzes one trillion visits to retail sites and over 100 million SKUs across 18 product categories: electronics, apparel, appliances, books, toys, computers, groceries, furniture/bedding, tools/home improvement, home/garden, pet products, jewelry, medical equipment/supplies, sporting goods, personal care products, flowers/related gifts, non-prescription drugs and office supplies.
In April, 11 of the DPIs 18 categories experienced YoY price decreases, with the flowers/related gifts category falling the most at 27% YoY. Seven categories experienced YoY price increases, including personal care, pet products, grocery, non-prescription drugs, tools/home improvement, medical equipment/supplies, and apparel.
On a MoM basis, 10 of the 18 categories in the DPI saw online prices fall. Price increases were observed in eight categories including electronics, books, pet products, grocery, non-prescription drugs, computers, sporting goods, and medical equipment/supplies.
Notable categories for April 2023 include:
Personal care: Prices were up 3% YoY (down 1.1% MoM), a smaller increase than the month prior, when prices rose 4.4% YoY (March 2023). In February 2023, prices for the category rose substantially at 6.1% YoY. This category has seen persistent inflation on a long-term basis, with only a single month since September 2020 that saw prices fall YoY – November 2021 (down 0.9% YoY).
Appliances: Prices were down 7.1% YoY (down 2.1% MoM), a record YoY drop for the category, since Adobe began tracking online prices in 2014. Appliance prices have now fallen YoY for seven consecutive months, after having risen for 29 consecutive months starting in May 2020.
Sporting goods: Prices were down 6.4% YoY (up 1.5% MoM), marking 12 consecutive months of YoY price declines for the category. Prior to this, sporting goods prices rose for 28 consecutive months, starting in January 2020. Price increases peaked in September 2020 at 15.8% YoY, as Adobe analysis indicates more consumers stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic and invested in products such as fitness equipment.
The Adobe DPI is modeled after the Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and uses the Fisher Price Index to track online prices. The Fisher Price Index uses quantities of matched products purchased in the current period (month) and a previous period (previous month) to calculate the price changes by category. Adobe’s analysis is weighted by the real quantities of the products purchased in the two adjacent months.