India will overhaul its benchmark inflation index to include online retail prices, the statistics ministry said, aiming to better capture shifting consumer habits. The move involves sourcing data directly from e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Flipkart, as well as scraping prices from 12 major cities with populations above 2.5m, Reuters reported.

The update seeks to make the Consumer Price Index (CPI) more timely and representative, reflecting growing household spending on e-commerce, airfares, and streaming services. E-commerce firms will provide weekly average prices, which the government will cross-check against broader datasets before inclusion.

The revised CPI, incorporating updated weightages as recent surveys show a declining share of spending on food, is expected to roll out early next year. According to Reuters, India had around 270m online shoppers in 2024, highlighting the rising significance of digital consumption.