Buenos Aires retail market overview - H1 2025

The first half of 2025 was initially marked, in the first months, by an acceleration of the consumer recovery that began in late 2024, and then, starting in March, by a slowdown. This aligns with the evolution of registered private sector wages, which have remained stagnant since the end of the previous year, and the continuing—though now more moderate—decline in public sector salaries. In contrast, the incomes of informal workers continued rebounding, likely surpassing their late 2023 mark by a wide margin. Nevertheless, all incomes remain 20% to 35% below their levels at the end of 2017, just before the 2018 crisis.

On the other hand, consumption is evolving heterogeneously: durable goods such as housing, cars, and appliances are seeing significant growth, while non-durable goods, which dominate retail trade, are lagging behind. This is reflected in the somewhat uneven performance of the street-level retail market of the city of Buenos Aires in H1 2025, considering that, while prices continue to rise, vacancy rates increased for the first time in nearly four years.