He consumption is in sharp decline. According to a report, average consumption per person plummeted in June. This data is another indicator of what is happening in the economic activity which is far from signaling a rebound.
The Banco Provincia Consumption Index (IBP Consumption) prepared by the public bank of Buenos Aires recorded in June a further decline after the slowdown in the fall in May. The decline reached -20.8% compared to the same month in 2023. Meanwhile, total consumption measured through the bank’s commercial products increased only 4.4% year-on-year despite the number of clients growing 31.7% in the same period.
The data, generated by the Economic Studies team of Banco Provincia, surveys the consumption carried out both in the province of Buenos Aires and in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and, during the month, was aligned with the results obtained by the SME retail sales index prepared by the Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME).
While, Total consumption increased by only 4.4% in the sixth month of the year, despite the fact that the number of customers grew by 32% in the same period. According to the indicator, the impact was greater in the Conurbano: While in the interior of the Province the retraction reached 13.9%, in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires (RMBA) it reached 24.7%.
In real terms, that is, considering the amount of consumption by all customers, the amounts consumed in the RMBA (+6.3% year-on-year) increased more than in the Interior (+1.6% year-on-year). Something similar occurred with the number of customers: they increased 40% in June year-on-year and 18%, respectively. This is the reason why the average rate per client continued to decline more in the RMBA than in the Interior.
“According to the Economic Studies team at Banco Provincia, maintaining a dogmatic course of economic policy aimed at stabilizing conditions, without social contingency plans demanded even by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was the most visible reason for this recessionary outlook in consumer decisions,” the report said.
Which sectors recorded the worst consumption data?
In terms of items, there was a strong Monthly contraction in digital purchases -60.2% compared to May, after having grown approximately 400% in the previous month due to Banco Provincia’s promotions during the Hot Sale. This shows that consumption, without the help of the special promotions offered by the bank, continued to be inconsistent.
A was also recorded acceleration of declines in mass consumption, especially in supermarkets and food (-1.4% compared to May), fuels (-6%), pharmacies and perfumeries (-6%) and in electronics (-3.1%), among others.
On the other hand, clothing, especially due to its significant participation in the index consumption, was “the winning sector” in June with a growth of 6.4% compared to May.
The IBP consumption has been prepared since mid-2020 by the Economic Studies Department of Banco Provincia. The survey includes information on the movements of 1.2 million credit cards and 2.6 million debit cards. In addition, analyzes the transactions of more than 9.2 million users from the digital wallet Cuenta DNI. It is adjusted for inflation according to the INDEC CPI.
Source: Ambito
