Overview
- CAME reported October retail sales for SMEs fell 1.4% year over year but rose 2.8% versus September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
- Six of seven tracked sectors declined annually, with perfumery down 6.3% and pharmacy up 1.7% as the lone gainer, while all categories improved month to month.
- Promotions and the Mother’s Day calendar provided a temporary boost, yet constrained purchasing power and limited credit kept demand subdued.
- Cumulative sales for January–October were up 4.2%, as 57.3% of merchants said it is not a good time to invest and many cited low margins and higher operating costs.
- In Córdoba, Fedecom measured an 8.2% annual drop in October sales and the province will gauge the impact on Gross Turnover Tax after Nov. 15, following IIBB receipts of ARS 250,469 million in August and ARS 235,041 million in September.