The Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME) revealed in its latest report on the SME Retail Sales Index that, due to the effect of inflation, retail sales fell for the first time in the year.
According to the study, sales for the sector they decreased 8.9% compared to April; while the retail sales SMEs fell 3.4% annually in May, which, according to CAME, affected various items.
For the Confederation, in May the retail sales they were affected by “increases in prices and costs, which weakened their profitability and consumer sentiment”.
The study carried out between June 1 and 3 in more than 800 businesses also revealed that “all the items surveyed saw their sales decline, both in the annual and monthly comparison”.
Sales were also affected by the national holiday, on May 18, which was carried out within the framework of the 2022 census, which represented “a notorious drop” for trade.
In addition, they added that “consumers turned to promotions. The Hot Sale, although it had good levels of adherence, did not make a difference to the SME entrepreneur as on other occasions”.
Despite the 3.4% annual drop in May, compared to this year to date, sales accumulate a 5.4% increase, compared to the same period in 2021, which was highlighted by the sector.
What traders are saying about May sales
In the survey, 49.9% of the markets respondents indicated “that its sales for the month were between good and very good, although 6.5 percentage points less than in April (56.4%)”.
Regarding profits obtained, “38.4% rated them as good or very good, showing a deterioration in their results compared to April (42.2%)”, according to the study.
