For consumers with some discretionary dollars left to spend, there’s good news: online prices last month were down 2.6 percent from a year ago.
That’s according to Adobe, which on Tuesday reported declines across several merchandise categories.
The software giant said the June decline represented the most significant decrease since May 2020, when prices fell 1.5 percent year-over-year.
Adobe also reported that June marked the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year price decreases, and that 11 of the 18 categories that it tracks saw prices falling.
On a month-over-month basis — May to June — online prices fell 1.3 percent.
The biggest price drops were seen in electronics, which were down 12.9 percent year-over-year and 2.3 percent month-to-month; computers dropped 16.9 percent year-over-year and 2.5 percent month-over- month, and appliance prices were down 8.3 percent year-over-year and 1.3 percent month-over-month.
In other categories, inflation has been slowing, notably groceries and pet products. Grocery prices rose 7.6 percent year-over-year in June, and 0.1 percent from May to June. That compared to May’s 8.2 percent price increase and is “some relief as consumers look for the high costs of food items to come down,” Adobe indicated. “June marked the ninth consecutive month where year-over-year price increases for groceries have decelerated from September 2022’s record high, when prices rose 14.3 percent year-over-year.”
Online price increases for pet items, like this dog carrier shown here, have slowed down from a year ago.
Online price increases for pet products also slowed, up 8.1 percent year-over-year and 0.1 percent month-over-month. That compares to May’s 10.2 percent year-over-year increase and April’s 11.3 percent year-over-year increase, Adobe indicated.
Apparel prices in June rose 7.13 percent, year-over-year, but were down 3.38 percent from May to June this year. Many retailers have recently been working to reduce their inventory levels and taking markdowns in the process, with consumers shifting much of their spending toward travel, services and experiences, and away from goods.
In June, 11 of the 18 categories in Adobe’s Digital Price Index saw YoY price decreases, with the largest drop in the flowers and related gifts category, which fell 29.7 percent year-over-year and 6.1 percent month-over-month.
On the other hand, apparel as well as personal care, pet products, groceries, non-prescription drugs, tools/home improvement, and medical equipment/supplies all saw increases in June.
The pricing statistics come from Adobe’s DPI, which is powered by Adobe Analytics and analyzes 1 trillion visits to retail sites and more than 100 million stock keeping units 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. Adobe’s 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 CPI is expected to come out on Wednesday.
