TL;DR
Household prices rose 2.4% year-over-year in December, following a 0.36% increase in November and a 0.04% increase in October. The Numerator Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks prices and changes in consumer purchases over time, showing everyday goods inflation remains elevated at roughly 2% to 2.5% annually.
Prices for everyday household purchases increased 0.29% in December, following a 0.36% increase in November and a 0.
04% increase in October, according to the Numerator Consumer Price Index (CPI). In December, prices for everyday goods were up 2.4% versus a year ago.
Similar to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis' Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Numerator CPI tracks prices and changes in consumer purchases over time.
The data cover approximately 20% of the consumption basket captured in the overall PCE price index, and closely tracks the PCE Food & Beverage index, offering a signal of retail price changes experienced by U.S. consumers.
"Everyday goods inflation remains elevated at roughly 2% to 2.5% annually," said Paul Stanley, senior economist, Numerator. "Because these categories represent frequent, essential purchases, consumers continue to feel the impact of persistently high prices even as monthly changes are moderate."
Additional key findings from Numerator's December CPI: Prices for everyday household goods increased 0.29% month over month in December, following a 0.36% increase in November and a 0.
04% increase in October. Prices for everyday household goods are up 2.4% year over year.
Following November's nine-month low of 2.2%, inflation ticked up in December to 2.4% growth vs.
a year ago, ending a trend of three consecutive months of slowing year-over-year price increases. The index is calculated from verified, item-level transactions provided by a panel of 200,000 geographically and demographically representative U.S.
households. These data include purchases across categories such as grocery, household goods, and health and beauty. For a full methodology description of the Numerator CPI, visit numerator.
In this story
This story was originally published by M. Scott Morris in Franchising.com on January 21, 2026. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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