The Google Price Index

A mountain of data passes through Google's hands every hour of every day. Now the company has launched the Google Price Index to map the daily progression of inflation with respect to e-commerce. Financial Times quotes Google's chief economist as noting that the Google index, still under construction, will take into account local variations and look at goods and services bought online.

This price index would provide a more timely look at price fluctuations than traditional price indexes calculated by government agencies. However, it's unlikely to replace "official" price indexes. What it will do is add to marketers' understanding of the current economic environment and help them track broad trends in price pressures. Google hasn't yet announced when (or if) the index will be made available.