Experts say mass consumption plunged again in August in Argentina

Mass consumption stayed in the red last month in Argentina, according to new private estimates. 

A report by the Focus Market consultancy firm showed mass consumption to be 13.7 percent down from the previous August (year-on-year) and 4.6 percent in relation to July.

The corresponding numbers from a study produced by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce (CAC) were 7.8 and 1.8 percent respectively.

The Focus Market report is based on reading the product codes at 756 retail points, detailing that the number of receipts fell 10.3 percent year-on-year and 3.2 percent against July. Items per tickets dropped 7.3 percent from the previous August to 4.3 items per ticket while three percent up from July.

“Mass consumption continues hurting. The perspectives for the last months of the year is that the volume of year-on-year sales cannot improve,” said Damián Di Pace, the director of Focus Market.

“The comparison must be made with a final third of 2023 awash with steroids to improve demand with increased social plans and pension and other financing in an electioneering context to increase the consumption of different socio-economic sectors,” he added.

According to this report, the trend in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA) is a year-on-year plunge of minus 11.5 percent and 4.9 percent down from the previous month of July. Inland, the corresponding figures are 14.6 percent and 4.5 percent down respectively.

“The Argentine economy on steroids last year has now been given the sleeping-pills needed to re-establish the overdue macroeconomic balances in a correction which has an impact on and costs for all the socio-economic levels of the population,” indicated Di Pace. 

“Argentines will find it difficult to recover their earnings immediately in an economy improving very slowly month by month but with year-on-year falls,” he concluded.

Meanwhile the CAC business chamber revealed the consumption of goods and services to be 7.8 percent down from the previous August and 1.8 percent from July for a 6.4 percent contraction for the first eight months of the year.

The year-on-year falls include 17 percent for garments and footwear, 13.8 percent for transport and vehicles (licences and petrol) and 21.7 percent for recreation.

– TIMES/NA