Mass consumption in Argentina began to show recovery signs During the first months of 2025, after a 2024 marked by recession and adjustment. However, this Improvement is unequal: While some categories grow and recover volume, others remain beaten, and the purchase capacity of Argentine households remains fragmented according to the income level.
This is revealed by the report Shopper Day 2025prepared by the Kantar consultancy, which analyzed more than 85 categories of products, from food and drinks to personal care and cleaning products.
According to the survey, the 61% of the analyzed categories grew in volume during the first two -month period of the yeardriven by greater price stability and the return of consumers to products and brands they had set aside. In addition, the report highlights that 3 out of 4 categories that grew also added new buyers buyersthey expanded the size of the basket and increased the purchase frequency, which marks an improvement in the general dynamics of consumption.
What categories lead the recovery and which are still in crisis
Among the categories that grew the most at the beginning of 2025, the capillary treatments, mouth rinses, skim yogurts and margarines. These products show a clear reactivation, in contrast to other areas that still fail to recover: 60% of the categories remain below last year’s consumption levelsand the segment of alcoholic beverages Continue in fall.
This rebound is supported, in part, thanks to changes in household purchase habits. According to Kantar, the strategies most used by Argentines to face the crisis include the active search for promotions (65%), the resignation of brands or products (45%) and generalized savings (27%). These tactics reflect a cautious consumer, which adjusts their purchase decisions against an still uncertain economic context.
Fragmented consumption: a recovery that does not reach everyone
The report also reveals a strong fragmentation of consumption according to the socioeconomic level. While Only 5% of the categories grew in lower income homesgrowth reached 79% of the categories in homes of medium and high socioeconomic level. This disparity marks a break in the evolution of mass consumption, with the most accommodated sectors by promoting recovery, while the most vulnerable homes still face difficulties in accessing a more diverse basic basket.
The data show that the volume of the basket grew more than 10% in the average and high levels compared to the same period of 2024, while the low sectors were relegated from this reactivation. This reinforces the idea of a Transition marketwhere consumption opportunities are concentrated on those who have greater purchasing power.
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Mariano Fuchila
Moderate expectations and a more rational consumer
Despite the incipient improvement, the climate of consumption remains conditioned by economic uncertainty. A third of households declared to be in a financial situation worse than that of a year agoalthough a 42% expressed improvement expectations for the next 12 months. This combination of caution and hope marks the pulse of mass consumption in current Argentina.
According to Esteban Cagnoli, managing director of Kantar Worldpanel Argentina, “the first brands begin to show signs of recovery, although they continue to compete with economic brands, which consolidated themselves as a strong option for the Argentine consumer.”
He Mass consumption in 2025 Thus shows a mixed scenario: a slight reactivation in some sectors, driven by middle and high income households, and persistent fragility in the lowest sectors, which still fail to get on the wave of recovery.
In this context, purchase habits evolved towards a more rational profile, with consumers attentive to promotions, willing to resign brands, and plan each purchase with one eye on the budget and another in the expectations of improvement in the future.
Source: Ambito
