The February 2022 online prices increased 3.6 per cent year-over-year (YoY) and 0.1 per cent month-over-month (MoM) in the United States, as per a latest online inflation report. This is a new record high, after the previous record in November 2021 when prices rose 3.5 per cent YoY. It marked the twenty-first consecutive month of YoY online inflation. February marked the twenty-first consecutive month of online inflation.

The prices in the apparel category were up by 16.7 per cent YoY (up 0.3 per cent MoM), more than any other category, on par with the 2021 holiday season where prices increased 17.3 per cent YoY in November 2021 and 16.6 per cent in December 2021. The category has seen nearly a full year of online inflation (11 consecutive months). It is a departure from a predictable pattern pre-pandemic, where seasonal discounting drove peaks and valleys in apparel prices online, Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI), said.

In February, 13 of the 18 categories tracked by the DPI saw YoY price increases, with apparel rising the most. On a MoM basis, 13 of the 18 categories saw February price increases, with price drops observed in categories including jewellery, the report added.

The DPI is modelled 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.