Online prices in September 2026: fashion cools, gold-led jewelry stays hot, UK snacks climb
In September 2026, full prices of the same US apparel items online were 1.1% higher than a year earlier, the slowest rate this year, while US jewelry was still up 15.7% and UK crisps and soft drinks rose more than 4%.
Every month Data Purl publishes the Shelf Indices: how the full (before-markdown) price of the same products, sold by the same online retailers, changed on a year earlier. September 2026 is the first month with data through the end of the third quarter. Here is what moved.
US fashion: the slowest price growth of 2026
Full prices of US apparel rose 1.1% on a year earlier in September, the lowest reading this year. Footwear was similar at 1.2%. The slowdown runs across the big categories: jeans 2.1%, casual dresses 1.0%, sports shoes 0.6% and sunglasses 0.9%.
Discounting held steady rather than deepening: 47.6% of in-stock US apparel was marked down in September, at an average of 38.2% off full price.
Jewelry is the exception
US jewelry full prices were still 15.7% higher than a year earlier, and earrings 15.5%, both close to their August rates. Germany and Spain earrings rose 16.1%. With gold prices high, precious-metal categories remain the fastest-rising part of the fashion shelf on both sides of the Atlantic.
UK groceries: snacks and drinks firm up, chocolate cools
UK grocery prices, measured per kilogram or litre on the same products, picked up in September. Crisps rose 4.5% on a year earlier (3.6% in August, and falling a year ago), soft drinks 4.1%, yogurt 2.5% and milk 2.2%. Chocolate went the other way: up 1.5%, against 12.9% a year earlier, as last year's cocoa-driven increases drop out of the comparison.
UK apparel and footwear full prices were broadly flat on a year earlier (down 0.1% and 0.3%).
How to read these figures
The Shelf Indices measure full prices of the same products online, so they are not affected by changes in what retailers stock. They do not include sale prices paid at checkout, loyalty prices or physical stores, which is why they can differ from official inflation. The comparison with official US inflation (CPI) for September will be added to the matched series pages when the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes it in mid-October.
Update, 15 October 2026: official inflation for September
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has now published September CPI, and the comparison is on the matched series pages and the September release. Official US apparel prices were 3.4% higher than a year earlier and footwear 3.4%, against 1.1% and 1.2% for full prices of the same products online. Official jewelry inflation was 11.8%, against 15.7% online. The official measure includes sale prices, stores and quality adjustment, so the two answer different questions.
How to cite
Data Purl, "Online prices in September 2026: fashion cools, gold-led jewelry stays hot, UK snacks climb", Data Purl blog, 9 October 2026. https://data-purl.com/blog/online-prices-september-2026
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