As inflation jumps, online prices rise at record pace
Online prices rose at a record pace in November, climbing 3.5% compared to a year ago and capping a steady 18-month inflationary climb out of the COVID-19 pandemic last April, according to newly released data from Adobe Digital Insights.
The surge in inflation is the highest since 2014, when Adobe began keeping records, the software giant said. Apparel prices rose the most, with price tags climbing more than 17%. Flowers, tools and sporting goods were also high on the list. Roughly $1 of every $4 is spent online, according to Adobe.
Many Americans were already feeling the pinch of inflation heading into the holiday season this year as supply-chain snags translated into empty shelves or a fewer selection of goods to choose from. Consumers saw some 3 billion out-of-stock messages online in November, even as they spent some $114 billion, an almost 14% increase that shows strong demand, according to Adobe.
Prices in categories like jewelry, toys and electronics, usually fall edging into the holidays, as retailers seek to lure consumers. Discounts, however, weren't as generous heading into Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, a sign that prices for retail's most important selling days would be higher, said Vivek Pandya, the lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights.
Inflation is "impacting prices across the board"
"What we didn't expect was for us to hit a kind of new record," Pandya told CBS MoneyWatch. "It really helped highlight the contrast in inflationary forces coming into the season and how they were impacting prices across the board."
Though prices for electronics slipped 0.4% in November compared to 2020, they fell an average of 9% between 2015 to 2019, year-over-year, Adobe data showed. The category includes consoles, mobile devices, televisions and "wearables." On Cyber Monday, consumers saw 12% discounts on electronics on average, compared with roughly 27% discounts in years past, according to Adobe.
Apparel prices are climbing likely via a combination of supply-chain shortages and soaring demand, as people ditch their sweatpants for more in-person public gatherings, coming out of the depths of the pandemic, Pandya said.
"As people get back to normal a little more — go back to events and there's more demand — that can again squeeze prices up," Pandya said.
Toys were the only category where prices declined more than in 2020, falling 22% versus dropping roughly 19% a year ago.