Consumption in Brazilian homes maintained a positive growth trajectory and ended 2021 with an accumulated high of 3.04%. The index is monitored monthly by the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras) and was released this Thursday (10) in an interview online.
In December last year, domestic consumption rose 4.27% compared to the same previous period. In the comparison between December and November 2021, real consumption was more pronounced and recorded a high of 22.47%.
According to Abras, the indicators have already been deflated by the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), measured by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The monthly monitoring of consumption in Abras homes covers all formats operated by the supermarket sector, such as neighborhood stores, mini-markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, cash and carry and e-commerce (e-commerce).
Expectation
According to the institutional vice president of Abras, Marcio Milan, for 2022, growth of 2.8% is expected in the sector. “We hope to maintain this growth due to Renda Brasil, which will extend throughout the year, with a constant value, and with a greater number of people in consumption. Another point is the signaling of lows [nos valores] of some products, a positive factor”, said Milan.
He also highlighted the recovery of collective bargaining, which will influence the recovery of the sector. “And, when we look at the month of January, the IPCA is 0.54%, it is a sign, it is indicative that there will be a reduction in inflation”, he added.
For Milan, last year’s result was positive because of the change in consumer buying habits, whose income was lower due to the covid-19 pandemic. “Supermarkets understood the macroeconomic scenario, the change in consumer buying habits and promptly sought options for brands and packaging sizes from suppliers, in addition to carrying out a lot of promotional action in the second half of the year, to serve a consumer with income more restricted.”
Milan stressed that consumers opted for cheaper brands in 2021 and said he believes that the trend of replacing more expensive products with lower priced ones will continue this year. The executive recalled that this began to be observed in 2021, when new brands entered supermarkets and consumer preference fell on cheaper products, “due to the pocket being more restricted”.
The consumer switched brands, leaving the product premium to medium and from medium to low, explained Milan. “It is the trend that we have identified and we will monitor every month and that should continue for a period in the coming months,”
national basket
The Abrasmercado basket ended 2021 with an accumulated increase of 10.32%. The national basket, which considers 35 products of wide consumption, analyzed by GfK in partnership with Abras, went from R$635.02 in December 2020 to R$700.53 in December 2021.
The most expensive items, compared to December 2020, were roasted and ground coffee (66.62%), sugar (39.90%), creamy margarine (31.33%) and tomato paste (28.37%). and frozen chicken (27.92%). The products that were cheaper in the year were potatoes (-28.73%), rice (-17.72%), ham (-9.12%) and beans (-2.47%).
regional performance
In the regional analysis of the performance of the baskets, the Northeast Region had the greatest variation in the year, with a high of 14.51%. Then came the South Region, which closed the year with an accumulated increase of 11.78%.
In the other regions, the variations accumulated in the year were, respectively, 9.13% in the Southeast; 9.02% in the North; and 7.44% in the Midwest.
