Rising interest rates, inflation force consumers to pull back in online shopping

April 'shows early signs of online price increases beginning to slow'

Consumers reined in their online shopping in April due to "rising interest rates and persistent inflation," according to a new report. 

Consumers collectively spent $77.8 billion online in April, down from the over $83 billion spent online in March, according to e-commerce data from the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI). 

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Online spending nationwide grew to double-digits in January when consumers doled out $71 billion, a 12.2% increase compared with the same time last year. In February, consumers spent $67 billion, a 15.5% year-over-year increase. 

April spending, by comparison, grew 4.5% compared with a year ago. 

Woman online shopping (iStock / iStock)

Patrick Brown, vice president of growth marketing and insights at Adobe, said in a statement that spending in April was driven by "durable demand for e-commerce."

However, "as the cost of borrowing and economic uncertainty rises for consumers, we are beginning to see the early impact on both online inflation and spend," Brown added. 

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April marks the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year inflation, according to Adobe. However, it also showed "early signs of online price increases beginning to slow," according to the report. 

Online prices increased 2.9% year over year in April, down from the 3.6% year-over-year increase in March. 

Additionally, 10 out of the 18 product categories tracked by Adobe saw prices fall from March to April. For instance, prices for electronics dropped 0.9% from March while the prices for apparel dropped 1.7%. 

Certain categories like groceries and pet products saw prices continue to rise.