Dealophant Price Per Unit Report: October 2026
Which everyday items got more expensive per unit in the last 90 days, with sample sizes.
Published October 7, 2026 by Dealophant · Data through October 7, 2026
Headline numbers
- Across 821 Amazon products tracked for 90 days, the median price per unit did not change (0.0%). 26% rose by more than 2%, 30% fell by more than 2%, and the rest stayed within that band.
- Largest median decrease: Protein Bars, -1.8% across 41 products.
Category scoreboard
Change in price per unit, same product and same unit, by category. Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
| Category | Products (90 days) | Median change (90 days) | Share up | Share down | Products (30 days) | Median change (30 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby Wipes | 74 | 0.0% | 34% | 24% | 35 | 0.0% |
| Aluminum Foil | 45 | 0.0% | 40% | 29% | 41 | 0.0% |
| Shampoo | 44 | 0.0% | 16% | 34% | 7 | 0.0% |
| Dish Soap | 42 | 0.0% | 24% | 29% | 23 | 0.0% |
| Batteries | 42 | 0.0% | 33% | 33% | 28 | -5.1% |
| Protein Bars | 41 | -1.8% | 15% | 49% | 24 | 0.0% |
Biggest movers
Individual products, each checked against its live listing. Not a ranking of brands.
Biggest risers
- Energizer MAX AA Batteries, Double A Alkaline Batteries...: +19.1%, from $0.44 per battery to $0.52 per battery
- Rise Breakfast Whey Protein Bars Almond Honey, 18g Protein...: +19.1%, from $2.08 per bar to $2.48 per bar
- Huggies Natural Care Sensitive Baby Wipes, Unscented...: +13.6%, from $0.029 per wipe to $0.033 per wipe
- Pure Protein Pure Protein Bars, Lemon Cake, 20g Protein...: +13.3%, from $1.25 per bar to $1.42 per bar
Biggest fallers
- Amazon Basics Liquid Dish Soap, Fresh Scent, Grease-cutting...: -27.6%, from $0.14 per fl oz to $0.10 per fl oz
- Amazon Basics Dish Soap, Fresh Scent, 30 fl oz, Pack of 4...: -22.9%, from $0.13 per fl oz to $0.10 per fl oz
- Amazon Basics 24-Count AA & AAA High-Performance Alkaline...: -20.3%, from $0.52 per battery to $0.41 per battery
- Dawn Platinum Dish Soap Fresh Rain Scent Liquid Dishwashing...: -16.8%, from $0.20 per fl oz to $0.16 per fl oz
- Pantene Shampoo, Daily Moisture Renewal with Vitamin E: -16.7%, from $0.32 per fl oz to $0.27 per fl oz
- Dawn Platinum Plus PowerSuds Liquid Dish Soap, 51.5 oz....: -16.0%, from $0.23 per fl oz to $0.19 per fl oz
Questions and answers
Did Amazon prices per unit go up in October 2026?
Mostly no. Across 821 products Dealophant tracked for 90 days, the median price per unit did not change (0.0%). 26% rose by more than 2% and 30% fell by more than 2%.
Which products got more expensive per unit?
The largest checked increase was Energizer MAX AA Batteries, Double A Alkaline Batteries..., up 19.1% from $0.44 per battery to $0.52 per battery. The full list of checked risers is in the Biggest movers section.
Which products got cheaper per unit?
The largest checked decrease was Amazon Basics Liquid Dish Soap, Fresh Scent, Grease-cutting..., down 27.6% from $0.14 per fl oz to $0.10 per fl oz.
Is shrinkflation happening on Amazon?
This edition found no confirmed case. Every candidate where the listed pack size dropped turned out to be a misread size, not a smaller pack. The report does not measure a shrinkflation rate.
How is price per unit measured?
Dealophant divides each listing's price by its unit count (ounces, rolls, wipes, batteries) and compares the same Amazon product under the same unit over time, using the median of its first 2 and last 2 captures in the window.
Methodology and limits
- Data comes from the Amazon listings people search on Dealophant and from our own price backfills, captured at most once per 6 hours per product. It is a sample of what was looked up, not a basket and not the whole of Amazon.
- Only products whose unit count Dealophant is confident about are stored. We compare the same Amazon product (ASIN) under the same unit label only, and never the generic "count" label. A product whose unit count changed inside the window is left out of the price figures, because that is a pack change or a misread size, not a price move.
- For each product we take the median of its first 2 captures and the median of its last 2 captures inside the window, so one sale-day price cannot fake a move. A product needs at least 3 captures in the window, and those captures must span at least 50% of it.
- Windows: 30 days is September 7, 2026 to October 7, 2026; 90 days is July 9, 2026 to October 7, 2026.
- A product counts as up or down when its price per unit moved by more than 2%. The median is across products, not weighted by sales.
- A category appears only with at least 40 qualifying products. The sample size is shown beside every figure. Categories are matched by title phrase, so a product can appear in two overlapping categories (for example batteries and AA batteries).
- Likely unit misparses are removed: any product with a captured price above $5 per oz or $3 per fl oz is excluded.
- Biggest movers and pack size examples are chosen by script, then each one is checked against the current Amazon listing before it appears. A product whose current price no longer matches our latest figure, or whose pack size cannot be confirmed, is left out. Products whose title changed inside the window are not considered, because that can be a different variant under the same listing.
- A pack size example is a listing with the same title and the same unit label whose unit count fell by at least 4%. These are individual examples.
- What this report is not: it is not a basket, not the Consumer Price Index, and not a shrinkflation rate. It does not say how many products shrank. Published editions are never recomputed, except for a dated correction note.
Data and how to cite
The data is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back. Suggested citation: Dealophant Price Per Unit Report: October 2026, Dealophant, https://dealophant.com/reports/2026-10.