Once again, demand fell sharply in self-service and small supermarkets. In January, consumption in that channel decreased by -7.3%, “accelerating levels of decline from previous periods,” indicates a report from consulting firm Scanntech. The contraction of sales in the so-called proximity channel accumulate 11 consecutive months, with peaks in August (-9%), September (-7.5%) and October (-11.1%). The decline in that quarter coincides with the entry into force of the new Fair Prices programmewhich focuses exclusively on large supermarket chains.
Scanntech’s report is built with data from cash registers from 684 retail outlets across the country. The consultant processes 4.5 million tickets per month and focuses on the 4 basic categories of mass consumption: food, drink, toiletries and cleaning. One striking figure is that the price increase in January was 5.9% (very much in line with inflation of 6% nationwide), but with a greater leap in the cumulative year over year: 102.9% against 98.8% recorded by INDEC.
Demand in self-service and small supermarkets decreased in all segments. “All product families lose consumption in January of this year compared to the same month in 2022: food (-11.2%) and personal care (-14.4%) are the ones with the largest decreases, while cleaning (-8.6) and beverages (-4.7) have smaller negative changes,” says the Scanntech survey. Food (52.2%) and drinks (31.6%) are the most consumed categories in local shops.
The data once again confirms the distortion of prices and the evolution of consumption caused by the Fair Prices programme, which includes a basket of nearly 2,000 products with fixed values through June, and a cap on increases of 3.2% per month for all others. It happens that the checks focus exclusively on the large supermarket chains, which represent 31% of the sales of basic necessities. “You may work with negative or low profitability in some products, but you feel inflation in the Chinese or in the shops,” they are frank in the industry.
They allude to the widening of the price gap that exists in supermarkets and local businesses, due to the “compensatory” remarks that are applied and that “they are impossible to control”, they admit to the Secretary of Commerce, led by Matías Tombolini. To this is added a further element: the lack of goods in the larger shops, due to the increase in demand (from consumers, but also from grocers who replace the wholesaler) and limited deliveries from producers.
Scanntech provides other relevant data. In January, the average purchase was 4.7 units, what it represents a $1,294 ticket. In the first month of the year, the categories that exceeded 5.9% were laundry care (7.2%), soft drinks (6.6%), hair care (6.2%) and alcoholic beverages (6.1%). On the other hand, dairy products (5.6%), the basic basket (4.6%), hygiene (4.5%) and snacks and breakfast (4.1%) grew less. The only ones not to increase were oral hygiene products (0.2%).
In terms of sales, out of a total of 120 product categories analysed, “those that show progress in consumption (or recover) in the last month are energizers, face care, body creams, soups and vodka Among those that have decreased the most we find ready meals, sugar, common wines, oil and flavored milks”, says the Scanntech study.
The price gap between supermarkets, shops and supermarkets is nothing new, but it has now grown due to two factors: accelerating inflation and tightening controls. A Nielsen survey of 7 commodities is revealing. For example clarion published exclusively, the difference in a 900ml Precios Justos sunflower oil is 95% compared to self-service shops and 108% compared to shops.
The same happens with soap powder (89% more expensive in shops and 64% in self-service shops), canned lager x 354cc (79% and 84%, respectively), 1.5 liter diet soda ( 24% and 25%), light cream cheese x 290 gr (35% and 30%), sweet chocolate biscuits x 100 gr (56% and 46%) and snack chips x 80 gr (62% more expensive both in shops than in self-service).
These are worrying data because local shops and businesses “are the formats in which people with lower incomes buy”, explained Javier González, an analyst at Nielsen a few days ago. The price difference, well, it inadvertently punishes the informal sectors, who do their daily shopping in small shops. The same consultant points out that consumption in large chains and shops remained stable in 2022, but decreased drastically in independent and Chinese supermarkets.
Source: Clarin
