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Mass consumption has seen a sharp decline: supermarket sales fell by 17.2% in August - Infobae
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Fuerte derrumbe del consumo masivo: en agosto, las ventas en los supermercados cayeron 17,2%
De acuerdo con el informe mensual que publica la consultora Scentia, en los primeros ocho meses del año la caída acumulada llegó al 10,6%. Qué se espera para los próximos meses. Los efectos del “plan platita” del gobierno anterior
www.infobae.com
September 16, 2024
According to the monthly report published by the consulting firm Scentia, in the first eight months of the year the accumulated decline reached 10.6%. What is expected for the coming months? The effects of the previous government's "platita plan"
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As expected, mass consumption in August had the largest year-on-year drop in recent years. According to the report published monthly by the consulting firm Scentia , sales in supermarkets and self-service stores collapsed 17.2% compared to the same month last year. It is worth clarifying that in August 2023 the “platita plan” of the former Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa , had begun to take effect, and demand was soaring, in a context in which there were pesos to spare and consumers were anticipating buying due to inflation and because it was clear that after the change of government, devaluation would come, and prices would be even higher.
The comparison base influences this very negative figure, and it is most likely that the remaining months until the end of the year will maintain this trend, unless sales begin to show a more forceful recovery. For the moment, they remain practically the same as in previous months, although they are not falling any further. However, if compared with last year's figures, a very strong contraction can be seen. With this August figure, sales for the year have accumulated a decrease of 10.6 points, according to the report.
In August of last year, the large supermarket chains had grown 14.1% in sales, but self-service stores showed a drop of 3.2%; and especially in the AMBA, demand in the traditional channel fell by almost 22%. This year, while the large chains registered a drop in units sold of 17.9%, in local stores the contraction was 16.5%. The notable improvement of the chains last year has to do with the actions carried out by the previous government, including the Fair Prices program, which only worked in that channel.
If we compare by channel and region, in the case of large chains, the biggest drop in August was recorded in the interior of the country, which showed a drop of 19.2% compared to 16.5% in AMBA. In turn, in the case of self-service stores, the contraction is explained exclusively by the interior, which showed a drop of 25.2% in sales, while in AMBA there was a rise of 6.5% in that channel.
According to Scentia, all baskets contracted, although some to a greater extent. The category that fell the most across all channels was “impulsive”, that is, products that are bought on impulse, such as candy. This category fell 27% year-on-year. Next came non-alcoholic beverages, with a drop of 24.7%; and in third place, alcoholic beverages, whose demand fell 24.3% compared to August last year. The drop in the “hygiene and cosmetics” category was 20.1%, while that of “clothing and household cleaning products” was 15.9%.
Meanwhile, products consumed for “breakfast and snacks”, “food” and “perishable” items were the ones that fell the least, with year-on-year drops of 14.4%, 12.4% and 9.4%, respectively.
The report by the consulting firm headed by Osvaldo del Río also covers the prices of the basket of packaged products that it surveys monthly in the aforementioned channels. And what it reflected in August is that the weighted average price is already below 200%, following the downward pace of inflation.
According to INDEC, inflation in August was 4.2%, but the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector registered a price increase of 3.6% compared to the previous month. And if compared to the same month last year, while the general CPI has accumulated a rise of 236.7%, in the case of the food sector, the figure is practically the same (236.9% increase in the last twelve months).
