Argentina’s economic development continues to offer mixed signals. When comparing October 2022 retail sales vs. October 2021 retail sales for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), the Confederación Argentina de la Mediana Empresa (Argentina Confederation of Medium-Sized Businesses or CAME as per the Spanish-language acronym) reported a year-over-year decrease of 3.2%. On the positive side, CAME reports that thus far in 2022, Argentine SMBs have seen a modest 1.8% increase in sales.
That said, organizations such as the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos or INDEC) indicate that there have been impressive increases in different economic sectors, such as a 126.2% year-over-year increase (at current prices) in retail sales made at shopping malls in Argentina, at least up until September 2022.
In terms of one of Argentina’s leading economic indicators, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that Argentina’s GDP will grow by 4.4% in 2022, with an 8.8% increase in private consumption. But the OECD projects just 0.5% GDP growth for Argentina in 2023 and private consumption growth of only 0.3%.
Given these mixed indicators, the growth in a few sectors seems to offer SOME notes of optimism (or perhaps opportunities). As such, below we highlight some of the best-selling products in Argentina in 2022.
INDEC recently published its survey of appliances and home products manufacturers, noting sales grow in Q3 2022 versus Q3 2021. According to INDEC, these are some of the top-selling products in this vertical in Argentina.
#1 Landline Phones
This type of phones and phone accessories posted a surprising sales increase of 85.8% in Argentina during Q3 2022, according to INDEC. This increase is due to the sale of 68,600 units during this period.
#2 Digital Cameras
During Q3 2022 more than 4,000 digital camera units were sold in Argentina, an increase of 47% compared to Q3 2021.
#3 Audio Equipment, iPods, MP3/MP4/MP5 Players and iPods
More than 2,000 iPods and MP4 players were sold in Argentina in Q3 2022, an increase of 44.4% versus Q3 2021. Audio equipment sales went up by 27.7% in Argentina in Q3 as well, with 118,000 units sold.
#4 Electric Stoves, Ovens, and Microwave Ovens
More than 102,500 units of these products were sold in Argentina during Q3 2022, which represents a sales increase of 26.5% versus the same period in 2021.
#5 Heaters and Water Heaters
During Q3 2022 nearly 138,400 heaters and water heaters were sold in Argentina, a sales increase of 26.1% compared to 2021.
#6 Blenders, Coffeemakers and Similar Products
In Argentina, small appliances had sales of 606,000 units during Q3 2022, which is an increase of 13% compared to Q3 2021.
#7 TVs
Altogether, LED TVs, smart TVs, LCD TVs, and plasma TVs posted a sales increase of 11.9% during Q3 2022 in Argentina, with 343,000 units sold in this period.
.
#8 PCs and Laptops
There was a modest 7.1% sales growth in this category, which includes PCs, notebooks, all-in-ones, and similar products, fueled by 66,000 units sold in Q3 2022.
#9 Pharmacy Products and Perfumes
In October 2022, CAME reported a 6.8% annual increase in sales of perfumes and pharmacy products in Argentina in October 2022. It’s “one of the few sectors that is doing well,” said the organization in its report.
#10 Clothing, Footwear and Leather Goods
In October 2022 in Argentina, there was a year-over-year increase of 2.2% in the sales of footwear and leather goods, at constant prices, indicates CAME.
It’s possible that a large part of this growth is concentrated in shopping malls. According to INDEC, in terms of constant prices, clothes and footwear posted year-on-year growth of 13.2% in shopping malls in September 2022.
#11 New Cars
The Automobile Dealers Association of Argentina (Asociación de Concesionarios de Automotores de la República Argentina or ACARA as per the Spanish-language acronym) reported a year-over-year increase of sales for October 2022.
According to ACARA, between January and October 2022, more than 353,000 new cars were sold in Argentina, a 5.5% increase in sales compared to the same period in 2021.
#12 Hardware Products
Hardware products, electrical materials and construction materials sold in retail establishments in Argentina posted a sales increase of 4.3% between January and October 2022, according to CAME.
According to business owners surveyed by CAME, the industry is now in a “high season” compared to fall 2021, when the pandemic was still ongoing.
FREE REPORT
The 2023 Latin America Forecast
Five massive trends that will shape Latin America not only for in 2023—but also throughout the rest of the decade into 2030
Next Steps
Contact us if you’re interested in further market research about the consumer market in Argentina or other countries. Over the past 30 years we’ve conducted more than 600 consumer market research studies for Latin America. These include market landscape studies, opportunity benchmarking, competitive intelligence and more.
You may also want to explore our other stories on top-selling products in Latin America overall and also in markets such as Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Chile.
