Shelf Indices · United States · Data through September 2026
US apparel prices and discounts
In September 2026, full prices of the same US apparel products at the same retailers were 1.1% higher than a year earlier, up from +0.6% in September 2025. 48% of the in-stock US apparel range was marked down, at an average discount of 38%. The official US consumer price index for apparel (BLS CPI) was +3.4% in September 2026.
Shelf price change
Against official inflation
Why the two differ. They answer different questions. The CPI measures what people pay for apparel in stores and online, including sale prices, and adjusts for changes in product quality. This index compares the full (list) price of the exact same products at covered online retailers a year apart, with no quality adjustment, so it isolates list-price moves; discounting is measured separately below.
Discounting
Definitions
- 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.
- Countries
- United States
- Retailers
- Data Purl's covered online retailers in that market, including brands' own sites where tracked. Physical stores are not covered.
- Scope
- The whole apparel department in Data Purl's standardized category tree
- Sample
- About 456,000 products matched year on year each week (average over the last 12 months)
- Series
- Monthly from January 2024; published one month in arrears
- Not counted
- Checkout-only, loyalty and code discounts, and prices behind a login
- Version
- 2026-10.2 · methodology Sector Analytics same-SKU v2026-09 · observations through 2026-09-30 · published 2026-10-09
Data
Monthly values
| Month | Shelf price change | Markdown breadth | Average discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | +1.1% | 47.6% | 38.2% |
| Aug 2026 | +1.6% | 47.0% | 37.8% |
| Jul 2026 | +1.8% | 48.5% | 39.7% |
| Jun 2026 | +1.8% | 49.0% | 37.6% |
| May 2026 | +1.9% | 46.4% | 37.2% |
| Apr 2026 | +2.5% | 45.7% | 37.5% |
| Mar 2026 | +2.5% | 45.0% | 36.2% |
| Feb 2026 | +1.9% | 44.0% | 37.0% |
| Jan 2026 | +1.6% | 41.9% | 38.5% |
| Dec 2025 | +1.2% | 49.9% | 38.6% |
| Nov 2025 | +1.2% | 50.7% | 36.3% |
| Oct 2025 | +1.1% | 44.7% | 36.4% |
| Sept 2025 | +0.6% | 44.4% | 35.2% |
| Aug 2025 | +0.7% | 45.7% | 37.2% |
| Jul 2025 | +0.9% | 46.5% | 37.9% |
| Jun 2025 | +1.3% | 46.4% | 37.0% |
| May 2025 | +0.9% | 43.9% | 36.0% |
| Apr 2025 | +0.5% | 43.2% | 38.0% |
| Mar 2025 | +0.8% | 43.7% | 38.4% |
| Feb 2025 | +1.1% | 44.5% | 40.4% |
| Jan 2025 | +1.7% | 42.5% | 41.9% |
| Dec 2024 | +1.0% | 49.5% | 41.0% |
| Nov 2024 | +0.6% | 49.0% | 40.8% |
| Oct 2024 | +0.7% | 45.8% | 37.6% |
| Sept 2024 | +0.4% | 44.6% | 36.4% |
| Aug 2024 | -0.9% | 45.8% | 37.3% |
| Jul 2024 | -1.5% | 44.9% | 37.5% |
| Jun 2024 | -1.9% | 43.4% | 37.2% |
| May 2024 | -1.9% | 40.9% | 37.8% |
| Apr 2024 | -1.5% | 42.4% | 37.9% |
| Mar 2024 | -1.6% | 41.6% | 37.9% |
| Feb 2024 | -1.2% | 39.6% | 40.2% |
| Jan 2024 | -1.2% | 38.6% | 40.7% |
Questions
How much have US apparel prices changed in 2026?
In September 2026, full prices of the same US apparel products at the same retailers were 1.1% higher than a year earlier, up from +0.6% in September 2025. 48% of the in-stock US apparel range was marked down, at an average discount of 38%. The official US consumer price index for apparel (BLS CPI) was +3.4% in September 2026.
How much of the US apparel range is on sale?
In September 2026, 47.6% of in-stock US apparel SKUs were marked down, at an average discount of 38.2% off full price.
How do US apparel online prices compare with official inflation?
In September 2026, full prices of the same US apparel products online were +1.1% on a year earlier; the official CPI for apparel was +3.4%. CPI includes sale prices and stores and is quality-adjusted; this index compares full online prices of identical products.
How is the US apparel index measured?
It compares the full (before-markdown) price of the same products at the same online retailers with a year earlier, so changes in what retailers stock do not move it. Data Purl publishes it monthly, one month in arrears.
How to cite
Data Purl, "US apparel shelf index", Data Purl Shelf Indices (version 2026-10.2, data through September 2026). https://data-purl.com/data/us-apparel
Free to reuse with attribution to Data Purl (CC BY 4.0). Not investment advice.
See US apparel by brand, retailer and week
This index is department-level and monthly. The full dataset breaks every measure down by brand, retailer, subcategory and week, with brands resolved to their owners.