Game downloads added to ONS inflation index

The revenue generated by game downloads has officially become one of the measures by which the Office of National Statistics measures UK inflation.

The ONS has a ‘shopping basket’ of goods that it tracks, with price changes used to gauge how inflation is shifting in the UK.

City AM reports that digital downloads are new to the basket this year. Also added are coffee pods, women’s leggings, lemons, nail varnish, cream liqueur, microwave rice, large chocolate bars and multipack buffet meats.

A number of items have been dropped from the basket, too. Chief among them this year are CD Roms, thanks to the rise in downloads, and rewritable DVDs, which have dwindled at the hands of streaming services.

Also out are nightclub entry, organic carrots and cooked sliced turkey.