Latin America

In Guatemala, the direct selling channel continues to rely heavily on in-person interactions as e-commerce penetration remains relatively low. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on direct selling in 2020 due to government…

In 2022, retail value sales of grocery retailers recorded substantial growth. Inflationary pressures were a key contributor to this strong value increase, while volume sales growth decelerated compared to the previous year. Overall, increases in the…

Pharmacies in Guatemala saw robust year-on-year sales growth in 2022. However, when viewed in constant terms (i.e., adjusted for inflation), the sales growth rate slowed from the previous year. This can be attributed to the circumstances of the…

Prior to 2020, e-commerce in Guatemala had been experiencing steady growth over the years, but adoption rates remained relatively low. However, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in e-commerce sales, particularly among more affluent consumers…

In 2022 retail in El Salvador rebounded. Stronger macroeconomic indicators and a full return to pre-pandemic lifestyles boosted consumer demand, especially among wealthier shoppers. However, high inflation, widespread informal retailing and a…

The retail sector in Guatemala continued to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, although at a slower pace than in 2021. Despite this, it still grew at a rate higher than inflation. The buoyancy of the retail sector was largely driven by…

Retailing in Honduras continued to recover in 2022 in the wake of the pandemic. The industry proved highly resilient despite inflation and high levels of poverty in the country. Modern grocery retailers continued to make inroads due to their…

Following low value sales in 2021, direct selling saw a positive boost in 2022, despite rising price points and inflation. The most positive aspect has been the strong recovery of beauty and personal care sales, the largest part of the category.…

Leading player Wal-Mart continued to invest in expanding Palí and Maxi Pali in 2022, opening new locations nationwide. Between January to September, nine stores in different parts of the country were opened: seven Palí stores and two Maxi Palí. The…

Following its acquisition by Grupo Unicomer, RadioShack reopened its stores in Costa Rica in 2022. The player plans to have 18 outlets within the country by the end of 2024. This moves shows the continued importance, opportunity and growth for…

While e-commerce sales saw significant growth in 2021, in 2022, growth was boosted even further, with strong double-digit value retail growth recorded. Online sales are well developed in Costa Rica in regional terms but remain immature in global…

Retailing in Costa Rica was challenged in 2022, with rising inflation and price hikes impacting consumer buying habits. In addition, high levels of unemployment in the country continued to impact household budgets, shaping purchasing decisions. This…

Retailing rebounded strongly in 2022 in a continuation of the previous year. The reopening of society and the resumption of pre-pandemic lifestyles were enabled by the rollout of vaccines and the waning of the virus, all of which reduced fears of…

Retailing in Paraguay maintained its bounce back in 2022 from the previous year after the market declined in 2020 due to the global pandemic. The full removal of COVID-19 restrictions and the rollout of vaccines facilitated a greater degree of…

The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit direct selling companies hard as they were almost entirely dependent on their sales agents or distributors to generate sales. Restrictions on movement and socialisation stopped this model in its…

New payment technologies continued to arrive in modern grocery channels in Bolivia at the end of the review period. Consumers demand in-person shopping options that incorporate more of the ease and convenience of online shopping. In a market where…

Pharmacies remained a leading format within non-grocery retailers in Bolivia at the end of the review period. Farmacorp, the leading non-grocery retailer, continued to invest heavily in expansion to reach, according to the company, all regional…

Before the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, e-commerce purchases of goods were largely made via foreign websites, such as Amazon or other similar sites. However, with the development and strong promotion of domestic e-commerce…

The country continued to emerge out of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2022. With the relaxation of restrictions on movement and socialisation, shoppers returned to physical stores, driving the ongoing recovery of sales in categories that were…

Beauty and personal care remain the main category in direct selling with brands like Belcorp and Natura posting positive growth in 2022. The use of personalized recommendations and innovative products at affordable prices is supporting development.…

Beauty and personal care brands, including players such as Avon, continued to represent the largest part of the direct selling business. In 2022, these players were able to leverage their longstanding relationship with consumers, using their solid…

Reduced price initiatives continue to gain momentum in the Dominican Republic as inflation squeezes consumer expenditure. Price sensitivity has been an issue since the pandemic with Dominicans looking for more affordable options. The number of…

The reduction in spending power in Argentina and the rise of prices in Uruguay have impacted the results of some of the key players in grocery retailers. The exchange between Uruguay and Argentina has traditionally been strong, with a long-standing…

Non-grocery retailers posted a strong rise in current value growth in 2022 supported by a rebound in demand as consumer lifestyles shifted back to greater normality post-pandemic. Inflationary pressures have undoubtedly pushed up retail prices, but…

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, restrictions on travel and socialising heavily impacted certain non-grocery retailers, as consumers were confided to the household. With the risk of COVID-19 reducing, the government has lifted restrictions on…

While higher retail prices and lower spending power led to more conscious consumption in 2022, special promotional days provided a welcome boost to value sales throughout the year. Black Friday hosted between the 24 and 27th of November was such an…

The make-up of e-commerce in Uruguay and the current retail environment has resulted in third party merchants holding considerable value share in the channel. Beyond those third party merchants, grocery retailers have a strong share. Henderson &…

Consumers were impacted by high inflation and rising prices in 2022 and increasingly opted to reduce their spending or seek out promotional deals to budget effectively. Dominicans sought out retailers and channels that offered the greatest return on…

Inflation and ongoing price increases significantly impacted the retail industry in 2022. High price rises led to changing consumer behaviours, with a drop in demand as many were looking to delay significant purchases, reducing and adapting their…

The channel did not see any important changes in the last couple of years of the review period, with no new brands entering the market or announcing their intention to do so. This meant that the existing players continued to gain ground, using new…

Grocery retailers continued to see dynamic growth in 2022, with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions supporting economic activity and boosting consumer confidence. Furthermore, while many consumers remained price sensitive in 2022, spending was…

According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Censos (INEC), consumer appliances and electronics experienced a reduction in prices over 2022, when compared to 2021. This was in part due to a normalisation of production thereby ensuring there…

Historically, online spending by Ecuadorians has been primarily focused on services and entertainment. However, consumption patterns in this area changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people increasingly choosing to purchase…

Retail in Ecuador posted strong growth in current value terms in 2022, building on the strong recovery posted the previous year. With COVID-19 fears subsiding and most of the remaining restrictions being lifted locals and foreign visitors were more…

In apparel and footwear specialists in Argentina prices increased well above the general rate of inflation in 2021 and 2022. However, in 2023, the situation was reversed, with prices of apparel and footwear rising at a lower level than the general…

Appliances and electronics specialists in Argentina operated in a complex and difficult economic situation. This led to subsequent decreases in retail sales, and several specialists were forced to close the business or at last some outlets during the…

Convenience retailers in Argentina were affected by the annual inflation rate, which reached a triple-digit figure in 2023. Consequently, consumers experienced a significant weakening of their purchasing power. This had some benefits for convenience…

Direct selling in Argentina is held to have performed positively in 2023, despite a complex and difficult economic and business context. Many direct selling companies registered strong performances in retail value sales in 2023, although there were…

Consumers in Argentina continued to migrate to discounters in search of low prices, discounts and price promotions, given the complex and difficult economic context in the country. Discounters offer a broad portfolio of private label options covering…

The competitive landscape of general merchandise stores in Argentina witnessed significant disruption towards the end of the review period as Falabella closed its stores and left the country. As a result, the Mexican enterprise Coppel was the only…

All categories of health and beauty specialists in Argentina recorded triple-digit or very close to triple-digit increases in retail current value sales growth in 2023. Optical goods stores registered the fastest growth in terms of retail current…

Home products specialists in Argentina derived some positive effects from the very high inflation and currency exchange rate devaluation in the country in 2023. This was because Argentinian consumers found a number of opportunities to offset the…

Leading chains of hypermarkets in Argentina like Carrefour and Jumbo are reducing their in-store selling spaces, in order to enhance their e-commerce operations and transform them into real and proper omnichannel outlets. Such spaces are dedicated to…

Retail e-commerce In Argentina was the most dynamic channel in retailing. However, higher, exponential retail current value growth in 2023, compared with 2021 and 2022, was mainly due to very high inflation, which reached a triple-digit rate. While…

In 2023, current value sales in retail in Argentina experienced triple-digit growth, although this was primarily driven by very high inflation, which remained a chronic issue. Inflation reached a triple-digit rate during 2023 and the country…

Small local grocers in Argentina continued to cede some ground to or lose competitiveness with regard to modern grocery retailers like supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores and discounters during 2023. In a context of very high inflation,…

In supermarkets in Argentina, Asian concepts, the main competitors to chains, continued to experience a deep crisis at the end of the review period. As a result, some Asian supermarkets closed their businesses in Argentina and moved to Bolivia,…

In 2023, vending in Argentina registered exponential retail current value sales growth, although this can be explained mainly by the very high inflation rate in the country. Vending remained a small channel in the country, and insignificant compared…

Apparel and footwear specialists experienced another successful year in 2023, with moderate current value growth as consumers resumed their pre-pandemic lifestyles. The approaches to apparel and footwear, which feature strongly in consumers’…

Rising consumer interest in receiving a more personalised service and advice is drawing consumers into apparel and footwear specialists in Peru. Consumers value the fast service offered by these retailers, especially in contrast to department stores,…