Expressing inflation figures as index numbers has the stated advantage of allowing easier:

1. Index numbers are a presentational choice as well as a technical one. 2. Raw money amounts from a basket calculation can get messy. 3. Indexing converts those amounts to index numbers. 4. The advantage is that indexing allows easier eyeballing of the inflation numbers. _Source: OpenStax Principles of Macroeconomics for AP Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 8 'Inflation'_