Consumption showed an improvement in the eighth month of the year, according to INDEC data. Even so, in the Milei era it presents a contraction close to 10%.
Supermarket sales recorded their first monthly improvement in the last three months in Augustalthough they remained almost 10% below the level of November 2023, prior to the assumption of Javier Milei as president. In parallel, in wholesale self-service consumption presented its highest increase since October from last year.
As reported by INDEC this Thursday, sales in supermarkets were a 0.2% higher than in July, in seasonally adjusted terms. While the level was the highest in 2024, it was still a 9.7% lower than the last month of the Frente de Todos government, while at the same time it showed a contraction of 10.1% in interannual terms.
Regarding means of payment, operations carried out with credit cards and “other means” showed increases above inflation compared to a year ago. The second group includes vouchers, coupon boxes, basket ticket, gift card and QR code; Compared to August 2023, its weight on total transactions went from 6% to 9%. On the contrary, the use of cash and debit cards contracted.
At the product level, The consumption that grew the most in real and year-on-year terms was fruits and vegetables, bakery and dairy products.. At the other extreme, declines were observed in meat, beverages, clothing and electronic items.
Consumption also grew in wholesalers and shopping malls
In wholesale self-service sales rose 2.2% compared to July. Although it was the greatest advance in ten months, the turnover of these establishments still remained below the levels of the first two months of the year. Compared to both November and August of last year, the drop was close to 15%.
Here the use of all payment methods grew, except cash. Unlike what happened in supermarkets, in wholesalers Clothing and electronics consumption increased the most compared to a year ago. Beverages, dairy products and warehouse products were those that showed the most pronounced real negative variations.
For its part, Shopping malls also enjoyed a rebound in sales, with a year-on-year increase of 5.1% at constant prices (that is, discounting the effect of inflation). Perfumery and pharmacy, clothing, and entertainment and leisure were the divisions that performed best.
While almost all regions showed improvement, In the City of Buenos Aires a deterioration was observed in the “purchasing centers” segment and in Cuyo the variation was practically neutral.
Source: Ambito
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