Consumption is not picking up. Retail sales in the SME segment fell 1.3% in June compared to May, according to the latest report from the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME). The data is damning: neither the soccer World Cup nor the collection of the Annual Complementary Salary (SAC) managed to reverse the negative trend. So far this year, the accumulated figure already marks a decline of 2.5%.
Although on an annual basis sales rose 0.9%, that growth was due exclusively to the liquidity injection from the bonus and the World Cup frenzy. But in the monthly comparison, the drop was overwhelming. “Both factors managed to boost consumption and drive demand in specific sectors,” CAME noted, although the reality at the counter was different.
CAME’s survey revealed that 50.1% of merchants reported a stable situation compared to last year, just 1.9 percentage points more than in May. But what seems like a respite is, in truth, a tense calm. Negative evaluations fell from 45.1% to 43.1%, an improvement that is not enough to disguise the crisis.
Future expectations are bleak. 52.3% of entrepreneurs foresee a scenario of continuity without changes, while 37.7% expect an improvement, although that percentage fell 1.1 points from the previous measurement. The remaining 10% directly anticipate a worsening. And most seriously: 59.3% consider the current context adverse for investment. Only 12.2% see it as favorable.
Sector behavior showed an uneven picture. Perfumery led with an annual growth of 9.5%, followed by Pharmacy (+5.4%). Food and beverages rose 2.9%, and Textiles and clothing, 1.9%. But at the other extreme, Bazaar, decoration and furniture collapsed 3.1%; Hardware, electrical materials and construction fell 2%; and Footwear and leather goods lost 1%.
Online sales grew 16.7% year-on-year and 4.1% month-on-month, but that was not enough to offset the decline in physical stores. “Consumers maintained a restricted budget, prioritized specific purchases, and continued to postpone the acquisition of durable goods,” CAME warned.
Behind the numbers, there is a story of shrinking margins. Businesses reported a strong erosion of their profitability due to rising fixed costs and import competition. “The business community consolidated a stance of financial caution, paralyzing investment projects,” the report concluded.
June was Father’s Day month and was full of promotions, discounts and interest-free installments. But not even that worked. The real economy remains in intensive care, and consumption, far from recovering, clings to an artificial respirator that is increasingly expensive to maintain.
para mi es obvio q cayeron con este gobierno kukardo q nos roba hasta el aguinaldo dejense de llorar el consumo no repunta xq nos sacan todo hasta las ganas de vivir aguante la libertad carajo voten bien la proxima zurdos de mierda
para mi el gobierno hambreador es el unico culpable dan aguinaldo y ni asi la gente puede comprar con el mundial tampoco reacciono porque los sueldos son una miseria los comercios cierran y los dueños lloran pero los trabajadores la sufren mas viva la revolucion