Sales for Father’s Day 2024 registered a drop of 10.2 percent compared to last year, measured at constant prices, according to a survey prepared by the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME).
The traditional celebration in honor of parents, this year was not spared from the impact of the recession on the Argentine economy, so despite the fact that “63% of businesses carried out special promotions”, sales had a sharp decline compared to to the 2023 celebration.
In this regard, from the union-business entity, they stated that “there were interest-free installments in many businesses and good discounts for cash payments, but people were still measured” and indicated that “a highlight of the date were collective purchases, among several family members, to save.
The average ticket amounted to 31,574 pesos, doubling last year but in the face of much higher inflation, which in May reached an interannual variation of 276.4 percent, as recently revealed by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC).
The CAME analysis provided that “for retail trade it did not help that the date coincided with a long weekend” and highlighted that “77% of the businesses consulted said that the celebration will help to have better sales in June although, probably , will not be enough to avoid a decline compared to 2023.”
The category that registered the greatest drop was Cosmetics and Perfumery (-37.4%).
Meanwhile, the only increase occurred in Clothing (+11.1%), “explained by the low base of comparison, the existing stock levels that expose, among other issues, that the prices of the sector are below the average of the economy,” the study stated.
The drop in sales did not take by surprise 71% of merchants, who expected a weak date and sold what they expected or more, while another 29% said they had sold less than imagined.
