The costs of goods sold online in the US fell in December as holiday discounting drove prices down on an annual basis, according to data collected by Adobe Inc.
(Bloomberg) — The costs of goods sold online in the US fell in December as holiday discounting drove prices down on an annual basis, according to data collected by Adobe Inc.
Online prices decreased 1.6% year-over-year, marking a fourth consecutive decline. Half of the 18 categories tracked experienced falling prices, especially in computers, appliances and toys that saw deep holiday discounting. The data aren’t adjusted for inflation.
That helped generate $95.1 billion for e-commerce in December, Adobe said. “Stronger consumer spending was clearly driven by net-new demand, not simply higher prices,” according to the report.
While price growth slowed on an annual basis for non-promotional categories such as groceries and personal care, they were still up from December 2021. Year-over-year prices also rose for office supplies, pet products and apparel.
On a monthly basis, prices rose 1.1% as two-thirds of the categories tracked categories saw prices increase, including appliances and electronics.
Adobe’s Digital Price Index provides a view into how much consumers pay for goods online by analyzing one trillion visits to retail sites and over 100 million goods. The index was developed for Adobe in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s new president Austan Goolsbee, who took office Monday.
The data precedes Thursday’s release of the December consumer price index, which is forecast to show a further moderation in inflation.
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