Prices for everyday household goods rose 2.7 percent year-over-year in February, according to Numerator’s monthly Consumer Goods Price Index (CGPI). Month-over-month, prices increased 0.26 percent in February after a 0.24 percent decline in January — signaling that inflation’s cooling trend has not held steady.
The CGPI tracks verified, item-level purchase data from a panel of 200,000 U.S. households across grocery, household goods, and health and beauty categories. Its year-over-year inflation measure carries a 0.93 correlation with the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ PCE Food and Beverage index since 2019.
Reacceleration after January relief
Paul Stanley, senior economist at Numerator, said February’s data undercuts hopes for a sustained easing trend. “After some welcome relief in January, inflation reaccelerated in February, and the uptick suggests that cost pressures on everyday essentials remain high. Consumers are still navigating a choppy pricing environment, particularly lower-income and younger households who continue to feel a disproportionate impact,” Stanley said.
Low-income and Gen Z households hit hardest
Since January 2018, prices for everyday household goods have risen 31.8 percent nationally. But low-income households have seen a 33.7 percent increase over that same period, and Gen Z consumers have faced a 36.0 percent increase – meaningfully above the national average.
Regionally, consumers in the South and West census regions have experienced higher cumulative inflation since 2018, though the Midwest posted stronger month-over-month increases over the past several months.
Expanded data breakouts
This month’s CGPI release adds new breakouts by income level, generation and U.S. census region, giving retailers and suppliers sharper visibility into which customer segments are absorbing the most pricing pressure. Full data charts and methodology are available at numerator.com/inflation.
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