Online prices for essential items continued to rise in May, new research has revealed.
According to the Adobe Digital Economy Index, the price for grocery items increased by 1.2%, compared with the previous month. The figure was also 9.7% higher than the same period last year.
The prices of pet products also grew by 0.7% compared with the previous month, the data stated.
In contrast, non-essential items such as electronics and apparel saw another month of falling prices as retailers seek to stimulate demand.
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“While the prices of essential items like groceries continue to increase in price both online and offline, the year-over-year decrease of just 1.3% in online spend for May shows that spending power and consumer confidence is starting to return,” Adobe UK vice president and managing director Suzanne Steele said.
With prices increasing, more UK customers are using buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services to help with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
The data revealed UK consumers racked up another £1.3 billion of BNPL debt in May, resulting in total spending on these services hitting £6.2 billion for the first five months of 2023.
Adobe’s analysis added that they saw a 6.5% increase in average order values using BNPL compared with April.
