The difficulty of making ends meet, in a race between prices and wages in which the latter are relegated despite attempts to adjust them in line with the inflation so far in the second half of the year, Argentines had to reduce several of their traditional consumption items and the data reveal that barbecue, sweets and public transport services were some of the items they cut back on the most.
The information comes from a regular survey of Moiguer Consultingand more precisely its Mood Social report based on a quantitative study of the total Argentine general population aged 16 to 75, on 1,300 monthly cases, and carried out during the months of July and August 2024.
The study found that Falling purchasing power sets the agenda of families and, based on this, respondents admitted having had to make significant changes to their consumptions.
Data on changes in consumption
For example, the survey concluded that the 52% of respondents believe that the consumption capacity of their households is worse or much worse than a year ago.
69%, meanwhile, said their household income is moving below the pace of inflation and the 52% said they have debts. Important fact: the proportion of indebted people grew by 10 percentage points compared to a similar survey carried out a year earlier.
According to the work of the consulting firm specialized in marketing, making ends meet is the challenge and, in that line, the 55% of respondents said they had to use savings to pay daily budget expensesMeanwhile, 23% said they started using savings to close their accounts this month, while 28% have been doing so for several months.
Almost half of respondents revealed that they increased working hours
To try to alleviate the situation, meanwhile, the 45% of respondents said they added work hours in their current job or a new one, or started their own business to generate more income.
In this context, Moiguer’s survey concludes that household spending is decreasing and that the main reason is that they cannot meet the demands of the month. Thus, the 67% of respondents reduced their spending on purchases from their regular household budgetalthough the impact of these cuts varies depending on the social level:
- 52% of respondents from a high socioeconomic level said they had to opt for that reduction,
- 62% of respondents from a middle socioeconomic level also did the same and
- Among people of low socioeconomic status, the figure reached 77%.
Consumption: the biggest cuts to make ends meet
Asked why purchases decreased, 76% of the survey participants answered that it was because they could not make ends meet35% because their household income decreased and 29% said they did it to control the budget, among other responses.
From this point, the study tries to focus on what expenses families are relegating when trying to reduce costs and thus extend the duration of income.
And there, the reduction of the traditional roasts appears as one of the most painful cuts. Of those who decided to cut the barbecue ritual, the 43% reduced the frequency and 37% directly decided not to spend more on these meetings.
But even though it is one of the lowest expenses, it is not the one that suffered the most. According to the data collected by Moguier, the consumption that the respondents regulated the most was that of taxi, uber or remis. 51% of respondents eliminated the use of such services while 40% had to reduce it.
Sweets and chocolates are also among the items that have been cut back the most, with 86% of respondents saying they had to reduce their purchases in this area. Outings with family or friends were cut back by 85% of respondents.
As usual, the most inelastic and basic consumption items are the ones that suffer the least cuts, although they still suffer some. Looking at the ranking in reverse, 41% of those surveyed said they had to reduce spending on their children’s school. This is the area that families left for last, but even so, four out of 10 made cuts. Medicines, internet and public transport, meanwhile, also suffered cuts, although they do not stand out in the top positions.
Source: Ambito
