Tariffs and De Minimis Rollback Reignite Durable and Personal Goods Inflation in August

Durable and personal goods CPI rose +0.43% MoM, marking the ninth consecutive monthly increase.

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, September 8, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- U.S. consumers faced renewed price pressures last month as durable and personal goods inflation reaccelerated. The September 2025 release of the OpenBrand Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows a +0.43% month-over-month increase in August, nearly double July’s revised +0.24% gain.

“After Prime Week discounts cooled inflation in July, tariffs and the elimination of the $800 de minimis exemption brought price growth back with force in August,” said Ralph McLaughlin, Chief Economist at OpenBrand. “The uptick was broad-based, spanning everything from dishwashers and power tools to razors and wearable electronics. Retailers appear to be masking higher prices by widening discounts but reducing their depth.”
Key Findings for August 2025

Headline movement: Durable and personal goods CPI rose +0.43% MoM, marking the ninth consecutive monthly increase.

Product group trends (MoM):
- Appliances: +0.48%
- Communications: +0.39%
- Home Improvement: +0.68%
- Personal Care: +0.37%
- Recreation: +0.23%

Discounting: Promotion frequency rose to 25.2%, the highest since last December, but the average discount depth fell to 19.9% from 20.4% in July.

Standout categories: Desktop computers, dishwashers, shampoo/conditioner, shaving razors, vacuums, and wearables all swung from price declines in July to sharp increases in August.

Market Context
The rebound underscores the dual impact of policy and pricing strategies. With tariffs feeding into supply chains and Customs now collecting duties on shipments previously exempt under the $800 threshold, costs are surfacing in consumer prices. Retailers, meanwhile, are tactically expanding promotions in breadth but trimming depth, a strategy that blunts sticker shock without fully offsetting inflation.

About the OpenBrand CPI
The OpenBrand CPI – Durable and Personal Goods tracks pricing, promotion, and availability for more than 200,000 SKUs and over 90 million individual price records. This makes it more than double the coverage of the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI in these categories and delivers earlier, more granular insight into consumer-goods inflation for retailers, manufacturers, and policymakers.
Download the full report: openbrand.com/cpi

Sidney Waterfall
OpenBrand
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