While high inflation disarms more ambitious plans to purchase durable goods, such as houses or cars, or travel abroad, consumers invest their savings in household appliances.
According to data from GfK, the global consultancy that routinely measures this market, home appliance sales in Argentina grew by 8.2% in units during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year.
As explained by the consultant, the climate issue had a significant impact on the statistics. “We had a very hot first quarter, where even though the start of the year (January) was not good for the seasonal categories (air conditioners and fans), they managed to stand out in the months of February and March.
So, both were among the top five best-selling categories by units for the first quarter”said Milagros Bin, retail manager of GfK Argentina.
Sales of fans also surpassed TVs, which were second in March. The air conditioning segment grew by 129% in February and by 194.5% in March (compared to the same months of 2022). Fans, for their part, grew by 236.4% in February and by 543.3% in March, against the data of the previous year.
Bin assured that in March it was “Electrofan” in which there was a growth of 32.4% compared to the same event held in September 2022 and of 16.6% compared to the same event in March of the same year, while compared to the previous week the growth represented 22.5% .
dadaist After the atypical heat wave in March, there was evidence of growth in summer seasonal products during this event: the Air category advanced by 116% and the Fan category by 707% compared to the Electro Fans event in September 2022.
According to statistics maintained by GFK, the two best-selling categories in the Argentine market, smartphones and TVs, grew below the market average, by 1.3% and 1.5% respectively.
In the last quarter of last year, Appliances & Housewares billing improved 101% compared to the same period in 2021, for a total of $202,550.2 million, according to INDEC.
During that period, the items with the highest volume of quantities sold were “small appliances”, mobile phones, televisions, fans, air conditioners, refrigerators and audio equipment.
After the first quarter, manufacturers and major distribution chains are now betting on a new increase in sales from the Hot Sale, the online discount event taking place these days.
On the second day of the event, among the most searched terms by consumers were slippers, notebooks, washing machines, refrigerators and mobile phones, according to the first measurements.
From Moulinex, which carves in the small household appliances category, Rodolfo Fasce, CEO of Groupe Seb, underlines that “globally, the pandemic has caused a revaluation of products for the home and this worked in favor of the category. The manufacturer participates in the HotSale this year and -with discounts of up to 50%- hopes to double sales regarding their participation in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Cetrogar chain of stores let it be known that, in the early hours of the event, the most sought-after items were “Smart TVs, washing machines, heaters and cell phones. According to Juan Manuel Almeida, Marketing Manager, “sales in the first 12 hours of the event exceeded expectations”.
Source: Clarin
