Shelf Indices
Data Purl Shelf Indices are free monthly measures of online prices and discounting by department and for 30 well-known categories in the US, the UK, Germany and Spain, built from the same products tracked week after week at covered retailers.
- Latest: in September 2026, full prices of the same US apparel products were +1.1% on a year earlier.
- Every series: a definition, a chart and a CSV download.
Version 2026-10.2. Data through September 2026. Updated monthly. All series (JSON)
Revised 9 October 2026: September 2026 added, and every earlier month restated to the latest Sector Analytics figures, so the published series match the analytics portal. Fashion series changed most (for example US apparel August 2026 now +1.6%, previously +2.1%); home and food series changed by 0.3 points or less.
What moved this month: Online prices in September 2026 (all releases).
Which retailers are discounting most? Discounting by retailer tier.
Looking for a brand? Quarterly brand headlines.
United States
| Series | Price change, Sept 2026 | A year earlier | Markdown breadth |
|---|---|---|---|
| US apparel | +1.1% | +0.6% | 47.6% |
| US footwear | +1.2% | +3.1% | 33.6% |
| US accessories | +8.4% | +5.1% | |
| US jewelry | +15.7% | +8.5% | |
| US home improvement | +2.1% | +0.4% | |
| US home goods | -0.1% | -1.4% | |
| US furniture | -0.3% | -1.7% | |
| US garden and patio | -0.7% | -0.6% | |
| US kitchen and dining | +3.1% | +3.5% | |
| US home appliances | +0.4% | +3.0% | |
| US pet | +1.9% | +1.6% |
United Kingdom
| Series | Price change, Sept 2026 | A year earlier | Markdown breadth |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK apparel | -0.1% | -3.5% | 53.8% |
| UK footwear | -0.2% | -0.5% | 45.8% |
| UK home improvement | +0.6% | +0.4% | |
| UK home goods | -0.5% | +1.4% | |
| UK beauty | +1.1% | +1.7% |
Germany and Spain
| Series | Price change, Sept 2026 | A year earlier | Markdown breadth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany and Spain apparel | +0.7% | 0.0% | 50.0% |
| Germany and Spain footwear | +0.2% | +0.3% | 46.3% |
By category
Thirty well-known categories, built the same way from the same products. Food and dog food are compared per kilogram, litre or pound, so packs of different sizes count alike.
| Category | Sept 2026 |
|---|---|
| Jeans | +2.1% |
| Casual dresses | +1.0% |
| Sports shoes | +0.6% |
| Boots | +1.6% |
| Earrings | +15.5% |
| Sunglasses | +0.9% |
| Rugs | +4.9% |
| Sofas | +0.5% |
| Ceiling lights | -1.0% |
| Kitchen cabinets | +1.2% |
| Patio furniture sets | -0.7% |
| Dog food per lb | -0.2% |
| Category | Sept 2026 |
|---|---|
| Chocolate per kg | +1.5% |
| Cheese per kg | +0.9% |
| Milk per litre | +2.2% |
| Biscuits per kg | +2.5% |
| Soft drinks per litre | +4.1% |
| Breakfast cereals per kg | +1.4% |
| Yogurt per kg | +2.5% |
| Crisps per kg | +4.5% |
| Sports shoes | -0.2% |
| Casual dresses | +0.1% |
| Jeans | -0.5% |
| Sofas | 0.0% |
| Category | Sept 2026 |
|---|---|
| Casual dresses | +0.2% |
| Jeans | +0.1% |
| Sports shoes | 0.0% |
| Boots | +0.2% |
| Earrings | +16.1% |
| Handbags | +1.5% |
What the measures mean
- Shelf price change
- The change in the full (list) price of the same products compared with the same week a year earlier, in local currency. Only products listed in both weeks count, so new launches and discontinued lines do not move it. Price changes are combined with a geometric mean, the method statistical agencies use for matched prices, and the monthly figure is the average of the weekly readings.
- Markdown breadth
- The share of each product's in-stock sizes and variants selling below full price, averaged across products so each product counts equally.
- Average discount
- The average discount on marked-down products, measured against their full price, with each product counting equally.
Full definitions are on the methodology page. Free to reuse with attribution to Data Purl (CC BY 4.0).
Need it by brand, retailer or week?
These indices are department and category level, and monthly. The full dataset breaks every measure down by brand, retailer, subcategory and week, with brands resolved to their owners.