Continuous decline for 12 consecutive months! US online commodity prices in August hit the largest drop in 40 months.
According to a statistic, the prices of online goods in the United States in August decreased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year. This marks the 12th consecutive month of decline and the largest decrease since April 2020. Among different categories, the prices of computers, electronic products, and household appliances experienced the largest YoY decline, with some categories even seeing a double-digit decrease. However, prices of daily necessities have rebounded. Online shopping only accounts for approximately 15% of consumer spending in the United States.
Although the overall inflation level in the United States has not yet dropped to the target level of 2%, consumers can breathe a sigh of relief as the prices of goods sold online are steadily declining.
On Tuesday, September 12th, a online goods inflation index compiled by software company Odobi showed that the prices of online goods in the United States decreased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year. According to this data, this is the 12th consecutive month of decline and the largest decrease since April 2020.
More than half of the 18 major categories tracked by Odobi showed a year-on-year decline. The categories with the largest year-on-year price decline include computers (-14.2%), electronics (-11.6%), appliances (-7.3%), and home/garden supplies (-6.8%).
Odobi's data shows that online grocery prices are one of the categories that have not shown a significant decline. The index for this category rose by 5% compared to August of last year, but decreased by 0.2% compared to the previous month, marking the first month-on-month decline since May 2021.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping has become increasingly popular in the United States. Odobi compiles its online goods price index by analyzing 10 trillion visits to retail websites and over 100 million units of inventory in 18 product categories.
Statistics show that since 2010, the proportion of online consumption in the total consumption in the United States has been gradually increasing. In the first quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the proportion of online consumption in total U.S. consumption surged from 11.4% in the previous quarter to 15.7%. Although it temporarily declined afterwards, it has been steadily increasing since the second half of last year. In the second quarter of this year, the proportion reached 15.4%, close to the historical high.
This Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the official Consumer Price Index for August. This official indicator covers a wider range, including not only goods sold in retail stores, but also service prices.
It is widely expected that due to the rebound in energy prices, the U.S. CPI in August will rise by 3.6% compared to the same period last year.
The latest edition of the Beige Book released last week by the Federal Reserve showed that in terms of inflation, most regions in the United States reported a general slowdown in price growth during the summer, with the manufacturing and consumer goods industries experiencing a faster slowdown.