India Will Utilize Flipkart and Amazon Price Data in the Updated Inflation Index
India plans to update its inflation index to reflect growing online consumer spending by include price data from Amazon and Flipkart.
According to the head of the statistics ministry, India will start obtaining price data directly from online retailers like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart in order to update its baseline inflation gauge. The goal is to replace antiquated metrics and account for changing consumption habits.
By representing the increasing proportion of household budgets allocated to internet spending, the move may strengthen India’s retail inflation data. It reflects a worldwide trend in which nations ranging from South Korea to the United States incorporate online and scanner pricing into their inflation calculations.
According to a private study, India’s online shopping population was estimated at 270 million in 2024 and is expected to increase by 22% a year.
“The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation’s secretary, Saurabh Garg, stated in an interview that the ministry has started scraping prices from e-commerce websites in 12 cities with populations exceeding 2.5 million and is in discussions with platforms to access data directly.”
He said that the expanding influence of e-commerce on household spending is substantial enough to be represented in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “The goal is to make the index more timely and representative,” Garg stated.
Weekly average prices of goods are being requested from e-commerce enterprises; these prices will be compared to a larger dataset in order to avoid biases.
Early next year, a revised series will be introduced that incorporates the new data sources into the CPI. Indians are spending less of their budgets on food, according to a recent study, therefore the update will also change the index’s weightings. Prices for internet streaming media and airfare will also be covered.
The update to the CPI is a component of a larger initiative to update India’s statistics. The creation of a new quarterly Index of Services Production (ISP), which is anticipated to be implemented by mid-2026, an extended employment survey, and a new GDP series with a base year of 2022–2023 are among the further improvements, according to Garg.
Garg stated that the monthly periodic labor force survey’s increased sample size guarantees accurate and reliable projections for making well-informed judgments, even on a monthly basis. “To further ensure comparability and credibility, the PLFS measurement framework is in line with globally accepted standards.”
