Mass consumption again showed clear signs of cooling in September, according to official reports from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).
Overall nominal sales showed mixed results by region: they fell 11.4% in the City of Buenos Aires, grew 2.2% in the 24 districts of Greater Buenos Aires, and rose 13.1% in the rest of the country.
Indec data confirms that mass consumption is going through a phase of pronounced cooling, with differentiated impacts on channels and sectors, and with growing signals of deceleration in both the retail and wholesale markets.
Credit card purchases accounted for 44.1% of total sales, reaching $865.406 billion (a 20.5% year-on-year increase). Debit cards represented 26.4% of billing (21.6%), while cash fell to 16.2%.
The largest nominal increases were recorded in the provinces of Catamarca (35.3%), Neuquén (30.4%), Río Negro (29.8%), the rest of Buenos Aires (27.8%), and Tierra del Fuego (27.1%).
The situation was even more negative in wholesale supermarkets, with a deeper decline. With this performance, the accumulated January-September period closed with a contraction of 7.4% compared to the same period in 2024.
Among the sectors with the largest nominal variations were "Clothing, footwear, and home textiles" (53.4%), "Meats" (45.2%), and "Prepared foods and rotisserie" (35.2%).
"Digital wallets and alternative payments" also gained ground again in the wholesale channel: "other payment methods" grew 62.5% year-on-year and reached a 32.9% share. The most dynamic segment was "other payment methods" —virtual wallets, QR codes, vouchers— with a nominal jump of 53.2%, reaching $260.981 billion.
In-store sales dominated the retail channel with 96.5% of the total, while online purchases advanced 34.8% but remained with a low share (3.5%).
The analysis by payment methods also shows significant changes in consumption habits. Despite the accumulated January-September maintaining a 2.7% increase over the same period in 2024, the deceleration of recent months is beginning to erode that initial growth.
In current values—impacted by inflation—total sales reached $1.96 trillion, a 23.8% nominal year-on-year increase. Among the sectors with the highest nominal increases were "Meats" (29.9%), "Bakery" (15.6%), "Beverages" (13.3%), and "Groceries" (12.4%).
However, this increase is mainly explained by price hikes, as after discounting inflation, the volume sold was lower.
The deterioration in purchasing power, the realignment of relative prices, and the change in spending patterns are beginning to shape a scenario of greater caution on the part of households and an economy that is once again facing tensions in its domestic demand.
