The wholesale channel has reached the highest participation in the last 3 years. Convenience, variety, stock security, and price are key factors influencing all purchasing channels and blurring their limits. Both warehouses and wholesalers manage to attract households thanks to price convenience and the certainty of finding what they are looking for.
According to Paulina Argimon, Advanced Analytics Manager at Worldpanel, a division of Kantar, price is the main factor in the choice of purchase channel (65% for wholesalers and 40% for warehouses), followed by the wide range of products (35% for wholesalers and 39% for warehouses).
A relevant aspect is the increasing presence of digital payment methods across all channels, as Argentine households diversify their purchasing methods and prioritize convenience, promotions, and these means. Loyalty to supermarkets and hypermarkets is fading, with wholesalers and warehouses being the big winners of this change in consumer behavior.
The phenomenon of omnichannel is an increasingly consolidated reality, where 77% of households shop in at least four different channels per year. Wholesalers and warehouses benefit by offering more accessible product baskets that align with the new priorities of the Argentine consumer.
Promotions continue to be fundamental in driving consumption, being more effective in wholesalers where promoted products grow by 8.8% while non-promoted products remain stable. On the other hand, warehouses have significantly increased the percentage of spending associated with promotions, reflecting an important change in their value proposition.
Shopping habits have evolved, with households making large purchases in both warehouses and wholesalers. Traditional formats are being reinvented, with warehouses attractive for 21% of large purchases and wholesalers for 63%. Both channels attract consumers who previously preferred other store formats, showing a significant change in the purchasing behavior of Argentines.
