2024-03-03 18:29:00
In February, a particular month because it is shorter and has the extra long Carnival holiday, the SME retail sales recorded another sharp decline, with a 25.5% drop at constant prices, accumulating a decrease of 27% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period last year.
The survey prepared by the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) indicated that SME Retail Sales Index corresponding to the second month of the year had a fall of 7,4%an even greater decrease in relation to the 6.4% decrease in January.
Inflation continues to slow down with a sharp drop in consumption
From the business union entity they assured that “In many businesses, February was designated as a month to be forgotten.with consecutive days where no sales were recorded”, given that “families made all their economic problems visible and there was lack of savings in households to make ends meet.”
Considering that February had an extra long weekend for the CarnavalFrom CAME they pointed out that “the holidays took away the excess money.”
In this context, the organization also recognized that “There were some problems obtaining merchandise due to delays in deliveries” and that “due to lack of liquidity, businesses placed more orders than usual to their suppliers, but for low amounts.”
“The suppliers consulted stated that the difficulties in supplies came for this reason and not due to speculation, since Regarding prices, February had less uncertainty than November, December and January,” they added.
Regarding the analysis by sector, six of the seven sectors evaluated had falls compared to the same period of the previous year. The only item that increased its sales by 3.5% was Textile and Clothingwhile Perfumeries fell 40.9%.
Sector-by-sector performance
The fall in the category of food and drinks It was 33.3% annually in February, at constant prices, accumulating a decrease of 35.2% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2023. In the month-on-month comparison, they fell 7.6%.
As to bazaar, decoration, home textiles and furniture There was a decrease in constant prices of 22.7% annually in February, adding a drop of 21.6% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period last year, although with a rise of 8.2% month-on-month.
Footwear and leather goods presented a reduction of 21.4% annually and accumulated a drop of 21.1% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2023. In the contrast against January, it fell 7.8%.
In the field of pharmacy Sales fell 39% annually, at constant prices, and presented a decrease of 42.4% in the first two months of the year, compared to the same time last year, along with a month-on-month decrease of 8.8%.
For its part, sales in hardware, electrical materials and construction materials They had a decline of 28.2% annually at constant prices, a decrease of 29.8% at the beginning of the year compared to the same two-month period a year ago and a decline of 9.4% month-on-month.
Sales of cars and motorcycles collapsed in the first two months
Perfumery It was the item that fell the most of the seven evaluated, with sales that sank 40.9% annually in February, accumulated a drop of 36.7% in the first two months of 2024 compared to the same two months of last year and had a decrease of 11.4% month-on-month.
The only “winner” this time was the category of textile and clothingwith sales that rose 3.5% annually in February, at constant prices, and accumulated an increase of 2.2% in the comparison of both two months, although they presented a drop of 3.2% month-on-month.
AS.
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