The recovery of mass consumption It arrives in tow in large consumption centers. Indec threw a positive fact for April, but the consultant Scentia advances that May was a month of fall in the volume of sales for both supermarkets and self -services. In that sense, chains seek to rotate their gondolas with a clear strategy: 70% of the products are sold through promotions or discounts.
The data is provided by the representative of an important supermarket chain that operates in Argentina and is sustained by sources in the sector. As explained, Since March 2024 that register the change of a demand market “to one of offer”
Mass consumption has remarkable behavior especially in non -alcoholic foods and drinks. The vector consultant highlights the following: although Sales made in supermarkets in the first quarter of 2025 grew 3.7% in relation to the same quarter of the previous year, Sales of food in supermarkets They resulted Lower 5.8%. Thus, between November 2023 and March 2025, sales contracted 6.5% and 9.9% respectively.
The data is framed in a first quarter that did not register a slowdown in food prices: according to INDEC inflation in the field “Food and non -alcoholic beverages” in January It was from 1.5%while February of 3.2% and March 3.9%.
Credit card purchases grow and payments with debit
For its part, in the same period there were changes in the payment modality: Purchases in supermarkets paid by credit card, went from 39.4% to 45.9%while the evolution of the participation of payments made with Debit card fell from 33.3% to 27.0%which “would allow to rule out that the rise of credit card payments is due to a growth in the use of electronic payment means,” the consultant determines.
Although credit card payments grew during the fourth quarter of 2024 as a result of the decline in interest rates and the return of promotions, The decrease in supermarket sales strengthens the hypothesis that the increase in credit card payments “responds to the reduction of the available income of households Already a defensive strategy of families aimed at sustaining (or reducing their consumption levels). That strategy was also complemented with the origin of personal loans in pesos and the Sale of dollars.
This week, INDEC announced the supermarket survey of the month of April. The document indicates that total sales at constant prices show a 8.9% increase compared to the same month of 2024while the de -stationalized series exhibits a rise of 0.5% compared to the previous month.
On the other hand, the consulting firm Scentia understands that in May that number can change, since Its advanced report throws red values for consumption in supermarkets and self -service centers.
In the complete look, which throws the variation in all the channels, for the third consecutive month there is a growth, in this case that rises to 5.5% versus May 2024making the accumulated also position itself positively for the first time in the year in a +0.6%.
“Anyway, It is important to keep in mind that 2024 was one of the years with the greatest contraction in many And that this outbreak must be taken as part of the recovery process that we all expect, ”says Osvaldo del Río consultant.
However, the situation is quite disparate between channels: In May the sales volume contracted -3.3% in May and the accumulated is -5.4%. Independent self -services add up to the second positive month +1.5%, but accumulate a drop of -5.4%. The sum of these two channels is negative at -0.9%. It contracts again after changing the negative trend in April (+0.1%).
“The weakest thing we found is in some foods and drinks, both alcoholic and non -alcoholic,” explains a source of supermarket. Meanwhile, from a company dedicated to the sale of these inputs ensures that the decrease in alcohol sales in gondola is “Especially worrying“Because” Argentine culture shows that there is always a wine or a beer on the table “and That practice fails to recover consolidatedly.
In turn, the wholesale channel marks a negative behavior of -6.2% and the annual accumulated is -4.4%.
The items that record increases in the volume of sales
On the contrary, FArmacias continue positive in +1.2% and the E-commerce channelafter a small setback in April (-0.6%) Retakes the growth path reaching a +11.4% in May and accumulating +7.2% to the fifth month of the year. Something similar happens in kiosks and warehouses, which continue with double positive digit, +16.1% in May and in the accumulated of the year they touch the 10 positive points.
“We will surely find part of the explanation to these disparate results in rationality and closeness to buy few units and control the expense”, Concludes Scentia.
Source: Ambito
