There are hopes that consumer price index (CPI) data this week will show that price increases are starting to taper off – but research from price comparison website PriceSpy has found that the cost of most consumer goods continues to rise.

The website, which canvasses the prices of almost 140,000 commonly bought items, says price increases are still present across three-quarters of shopping categories, despite China’s manufacturing sector resuming operations and declining international inflation rates.

Its recent study in June examined average price points across thousands of products listed under popular shopping categories.

These were then compared to average price points across the last year, to see whether prices were showing signs of falling or still increasing.

PriceSpy found that the average price of 73 per cent of all consumer goods sold in this country continued to rise, with the most significant price hikes recorded in games and consoles, children’s and family and garden retail categories.

The cost of games and gaming consoles were found to be up by 33 per cent in June, compared to the rest of the year, kids and family products were 17 per cent more expensive and garden goods were up 12 per cent.

Items in all three of these shopping categories were found to cost an average of $80 more last month, when compared to the annual average price.

Beauty and health products were on average $20 or 10 per cent more expensive in June, meanwhile phones were found to be $56 or 7 per cent more expensive, and computers and related accessories $28 or 5 per cent more expensive.

Cameras and homewares and interior goods were found to be about $20 more expensive last month.

New Zealand's annual inflation rate fell to 6.7 per cent in March, down from 7.2 per cent recorded in December.

The Food Price Index released on Thursday showed annual food prices rose 12.5 per cent from June 2022 to June 2023, driven by increases all food categories.

By the middle of next year, the experience of prices going up so quickly that things shift out of the realms of affordability should be a bit of a memory for many people, Infometrics says.

Last week it released its latest economic forecasts, which show that inflationary measures were finally moderating after two years of costs and prices running “out of control”.

Chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan says the Reserve Bank was on track to get inflation back to the top of its 1 per cent to 3 per cent target band by the end of next year. He said that was a bit earlier than had previously been expected but the strength of migration taking the heat out of the labour market would have an impact.

According to PriceSpy, the only shopping categories to experience a meaningful decline in average prices in June was audio and video goods – with prices down 9 per cent and sports and outdoor goods, down 6 per cent.

Products under the audio and video categories on average declined by $117, and sports and outdoor goods declined by about $34.

Fashion and related accessories were found to be 2 per cent or about $4 cheaper in June.

PriceSpy spokesperson Carl Lindholm says “greedflation” could be at play in the market, and one reason why retail prices continued to rise despite official inflation data saying otherwise.

“While our research does reveal a potential decline in prices for some shopping categories, when compared to the yearly averages, there were significant disparities between the largest average price increases and decreases,” says Carl.

“This suggests that price increases are still outpacing decreases, highlighting the current [challenged] market landscape.”

Carl says the ongoing price increases could be attributed to several factors, with high inflation levels likely the primary driver.

“Rising manufacturing expenses, encompassing labour and raw materials, further contribute to elevated product prices. Furthermore, while it’s not necessarily a common practice, ‘greedflation’ and potential business benefits may influence pricing strategies as companies seek to optimise profitability.”

Aimee Shaw/Stuff