COMP NEWS – Amazon has raised prices by an average of 7.5% this year. According to Amazon, this price rise is due to inflation.

That’s particularly true at Amazon, which has raised prices faster than rivals, according to Profitero, an e-commerce data analytics company that tracks more than 20,000 popular items across several large online retailers. Amazon’s prices on those items grew 7.5% in October, compared with the same month a year ago.

Amazon’s direct competitors such as Target and Walmart have also raised prices by 3.1% and 3.6%.

Walmart’s prices in comparison grew 3.1% and Target’s grew 3.6% for the same items over that period.

Due to the fact that Amazon is the largest e-commerce retailer, Amazon’s prices have influence over other companies’ prices as well.

Amazon — the dominant online retailer with more than 41% of e-commerce, according to eMarketer — also plays a huge role in influencing prices across the Web. The phenomenon, which economists have dubbed the “Amazon Effect,” happens because rivals tend to follow Amazon’s lead to match each other on online pricing.

Amazon’s price increase of 7.5% is roughly equivalent to the current inflation rate of around 6.2%.

That matters because consumer prices grew 6.2% in October compared to a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The spike, the largest annual inflation increase in 30 years, is driven by soaring energy prices and ongoing supply-chain backlogs.

You can read more about the ripple effect of higher retail prices here.

For more Comp News, see our recent posts.