Mass consumption is still in free fall: in January 10.6% year -on -year sank

While the attention is focused on the $ Libra scandal, which has Javier Milei As involved, new data of the real economy is known that reflect that the slowdown in inflation still did not mean a truce for the day to day of Argentine families. Mass consumption fell strongly in the first month of 2025. This was indicated by a private measurement, which came to confirm the advance of Scope.

According to a report by the specialized consultant Scentiapublished this Monday, Mass consumption collapsed 10.6% year -on -year in January. The data is eloquent. Not only because it shows that IPC deceleration did not imply a real improvement in the purchase capacity of households. Also because the fall occurred with respect to the first full month of Milei management, in which consumption had already started its fall.

Last Wednesday, before the data processing was closed, this medium told, based on sources in the sector, that sales in supermarkets had fallen again in January and that in large chains they estimated a year -on -year setback greater than 5 %. Scentia’s data ratified him: The fall in chain supermarkets was 7.2% year -on -year.

A hurried look might consider as an encouraging fact that the interannual setback has slowed over almost 18% of December. However, The decline of 7.2% year -on -year faced a January 2024 of very poor performance (-8.3% year-on-year in supermarket sales), amid the inflationary flash that followed the megadevaluation that Milei applied as soon as he assumed. This implies that last month The consumption in large chains was around 16% below the January 2023 level.

According to the data of Scentia, the fall of sales in supermarkets in January was 6.3% in the interior of the country and 8.4% in AMBA.

Consumption: collapse in proximity self -service

The consultant’s report, which follows the evolution of mass consumption month by month with a data sampling of 7,000 points of sale, evidenced that The collapse was even greater in independent self -services. In these close shops, The decline was 13.5% year -on -year in January: 11.6% inside and 17.1% in the AMBA.

In this way, the Mass consumption in generalbetween both channels, 10.6% year -on -year sank: 9.3% outside the metropolitan area and 12.5% ​​in AMBA.

In this way, an unprecedented fact is configured that accounts for the depth of the crisis. In each of the full 13 months of freedom management, mass consumption fell into interannual terms.

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Item for item

Scentia numbers show that The fall was widespread and covered all categories of mass consumption products.

The largest collapse occurred in alcohol drinks (19.3%), followed by impulsive (17.4%), without alcohol (16.8%).

They also dropped breakfast and snack (9.8%), hygiene and cosmetics (8.2%), clothing and home cleaning (7.9%), food (5.4%) and perishable (1.1%).

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Why does mass consumption remain on low?

The progress of mass consumption shows that, Despite the slowdown in inflation measured by INDEC, households fail to recover purchasing capacity. To a large extent, this is a consequence of the growing weight of spending on services facing working families.

Many of these services are essential or inelastic. And several of them increase above the general consumer price index (CPI) for long months.

For example, last week INDEC reported that national inflation was 2.2% in January, although with great disparity: While the goods increased 1.5%, the services jumped 3.8%.

In this way, even the workers whose salaries in the last year tied with the national CPI saw the portion of their income that goes in essential services and, therefore, have less money available to buy food, cleaning products, items from personal hygiene and other mass consumption goods.

However, the perspective is that, as the year progresses and year -on -year comparisons begin to be made against the most abrupt falls of 2024, the numbers of mass consumption rehearse a faint rebound. However, in the supermarket chains they agree that there is no variable that allows a significant recovery to be predicted. The unwritten guideline set by the Government for parity negotiations seems to come to reinforce that perspective.