Overview
- Idecba's June 30 report showed autoservicios mayoristas fell 21.2% year-on-year in Q1 2026, the ninth straight quarterly drop and a new recorded low for consumer purchases in that channel.
- Supermarket sales in the City of Buenos Aires slipped 0.8% year-on-year in Q1 after four positive quarters, with March posting the steepest monthly decline in the period.
- Stores selling appliances and home goods suffered steep losses, with sales down about 18.9% year-on-year and revenues also falling in current-price measures.
- Retail supply has contracted: since September 2025 autoservicios mayoristas report about 21.5% less sales surface and shopping centers show 48 fewer active outlets than a year earlier.
- Idecba links the downturn to falling purchasing power, rising household indebtedness and delinquency, higher flows of imported goods and firm closures, a mix that is shifting purchases to staple foods and raising the risk of more store exits.