E-commerce prices rose in September. That could mean tough times for bargain hunters.

If scouring the Internet for deals is part of your budgeting routine, you may want to rethink this strategy.

Online prices rose in September, according to fraud prevention firm Signifyd, which posted a year-over-year increase for the first time since 2023. Overall, prices rose 0.8%, the company said; The company monitors how the prices of about 60,000 products change, on an annual basis, in e-commerce stores operated by about 1,000 merchants.

The ease with which shoppers can compare prices online has long fostered competition among online merchants and contributed to lower prices, said Willem Kilo, senior data analyst at Signifyd. The company said prices were tracking a decline of approximately 2% year-on-year last July, and as much as 3.7% last October. But declines have narrowed over the past eight months in almost all product sectors, Kilo said.

“This seems to be a trend across e-commerce,” Kilo said. “I think traders are feeling the pinch and having to increase prices.”

Economists have said for months that prices will rise as companies pass on the cost of tariffs. The Producer Price Index, which tracks inflation at the wholesale level, jumped 0.7% from June to July — the highest monthly rate in two years — but has fallen since then, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Kilo said that consumers are showing a desire to save, as some resort to lower-priced alternatives to products they have previously purchased. He said that traders are aware of the spirit of saving, but they seem to be responding to pressure on their profit margins.

With prices rising and the job market slowing, some analysts expect Americans to spend less this holiday season. The consumer decline is in turn weighing on retailers and merchants, who may not offer discounts as generous as last year.