• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 9, 2022

Consumers spent 7.1% more online in May — about $78.8 billion — compared with the year prior. That’s more than $1 billion for the prior month, when consumer spend rose 4.5% year-over-year (YoY) to $77.8 billion online.

The data from Adobe Digital Price Index shows that to date in 2022, consumers increased online spend by 8.9% YoY to $377.6 billion. 

“Despite the modest increase in consumer spending online, an uncertain economic climate and rising costs in core areas like groceries are putting a hamper on overall demand,” stated Patrick Brown, vice president of growth marketing and insights, Adobe. “Slower consumer spending on discretionary items has driven slower, single digit ecommerce growth since March, and this pullback mirrors the easing in online inflation.”

Although consumers are spending more, online prices rose 2% YoY in May 2022 — down from 2.9% YoY in April and the record 3.6% YoY increase in March, according to the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI).

The data shows that May is the second month where online price increases have slowed. The majority of categories — 10 out of 18 — tracked by the DPI saw month over month (MoM) prices fall in May.

Major categories that made up 33% of ecommerce spend in 2021 like electronics and apparel continues to fall. Electronics prices fell 6.5% YoY.

Prices for apparel rose 9% YoY, down from the 12.3% YoY increase in April.

Toys are down 6.5% YoY, down 1.3% MoM, a record low for the category over the last 24 months.

Prices remain higher for groceries, rising 11.7% YoY — up 1.3% MoM — a record YoY high for the category. This is the first month where prices for groceries have risen the most of any category, overtaking apparel, according to the ADPI.