India is set to revamp its inflation index by adding Amazon and Flipkart price data, reflecting rising online consumer spending.
India is set to revamp its inflation index by adding Amazon and Flipkart price data, reflecting rising online consumer spending.
India will begin sourcing price data directly from e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart to revamp its benchmark inflation gauge, aiming to capture shifting consumption patterns and replace outdated measures, the head of the statistics ministry has said.
The move could make India’s retail inflation data more robust by reflecting the growing share of online spending in household budgets. It mirrors a global trend, with countries from the US to South Korea integrating scanner and online prices into inflation measures.
India had about 270 million online shoppers in 2024, a figure projected to grow 22% annually, according to a private study.
“The statistics ministry has begun scraping prices from e-commerce websites in 12 cities with populations above 2.5 million and is in talks with platforms to access data directly,” Saurabh Garg, secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, said in an interview.
He said e-commerce’s growing role in household consumption is significant enough to be reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “The aim is to make the index more representative and timely,” Garg said.
E-commerce companies are being asked to share weekly average prices of goods, which will be cross-checked against a wider dataset to prevent distortions.
The new data sources will be integrated into the CPI when a revised series is launched early next year. The update will also adjust weightings in the index, after a recent survey showed Indians are spending a smaller share of their budgets on food. Airfares and streaming-media prices from online platforms will also be included.
The CPI revamp is part of a wider effort to modernise India’s statistics. Garg said other upgrades include a new GDP series with a 2022–23 base year, an expanded employment survey, and the design of a new quarterly Index of Services Production (ISP), which is expected to be rolled out by mid-2026.
“The larger sample for monthly periodic labour force survey, thus, ensures that even on a monthly basis, the estimates are precise and robust for making informed decisions,” Garg said. “Furthermore, the measurement framework of the PLFS is aligned with internationally recognised standards, ensuring comparability and credibility.”
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