MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Supermarket sales keep dropping in Argentina

The Indec also reported a constant process of higher indebtedness by the average consumer

Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) released Thursday a report mentioning that supermarket sales fell 17.8% yoy in October as consumption continues to fall. Sales in shopping malls and wholesalers also dropped.

 Despite inflation resulting in higher amounts of pesos collected, sales at constant prices reflected the hardships Argentine consumers are facing as transactions keep plummeting. Face-to-face sales represented 96.8% of transactions while only 3.2% were carried by virtual means. The Indec also reported a constant process of higher indebtedness by the average consumer.

Between January and October 2024, the interannual contraction stood at 12.3%. As regards retail sales in supermarkets, the month-on-month drop (October compared to September) was 1.7%.

According to the Indec, the groups of items with the highest increases in nominal prices (given the country's inflation) in the first ten months of 2024 were: Greengrocers and greengrocers: 181.8%; Dairy products: 178.3%; Cleaning and perfumery items: 178%; Bakery: 168.8%.

Regarding the means of payment, virtual wallets represented 10.4% of all sales, debit cards 26.3%, credit cards 46.3%, and cash 16.9%.

The Indec also recorded a 7.8% dip in interannual sales at shopping malls at constant prices. Topping sales at current prices in shopping malls were: “Clothing, footwear and leather goods” (42.1%); “Sports clothing and accessories” (14.1%); “Food court, food and kiosks” (13%); and “Electronics, home appliances and computers” (11%).

Wholesale self-service stores fared worse, with a year-on-year drop of 22.8% in October of this year compared to October 2023. Meanwhile, the accumulated January-October reflects a 15.4% year-on-year drop.