Inflation in the shelf: hard goods up, apparel down
Measured on matched SKUs against a 2024 base, US shelf prices are rising in hard goods and metals and falling in soft goods. Jewelry (+20%), auto brakes (+12%) and watches and wearables (+11%) lead; casual wear (-10%), beds (-4%) and soft furnishings (-2%) are in deflation.
Data through August 2026.
The claim
News inflation trackers map where consumer prices are rising as tariffs and commodity costs work through.
What the shelf shows
- The biggest increases are in precious-metal and tariff-exposed hard goods: jewelry, auto parts, watches and wearables, and hardware.
- Apparel and home durables are deflating: casual wear, beds and soft furnishings are cheaper than in 2024 on identical products.
- Consumers are paying more for hard goods and metals while soft goods keep getting cheaper.
How we tested it
Each SKU is indexed to its own 2024 price and the category figure is the median change across matched SKUs, so product mix cannot drive the result.
Only categories with at least 1,000 tracked SKUs are shown.
Definitions of every measure are on the methodology page.
What it means
Category-level shelf inflation diverges sharply from headline averages. Matched-SKU data shows which categories carry the price pressure.
How to cite
Data Purl, "Inflation in the shelf: hard goods up, apparel down", Between the Receipts (BTR Vol 5), September 2026. https://data-purl.com/research/shelf-inflation-tracker-by-category
Published by Data Purl for information only. Not investment advice.
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