Wholesale chains are on the rise while private labels stagnate in a market where inflation, price sensitivity, and regional identity shape every purchasing decision of the Argentine consumer.
This article was prepared by the team at Food Retail Italia, official representative of the international trade fairs Cibus and TuttoFood Milan in Latin America.
Emotion over reason: shopping as survival
The Argentine consumer is caught in an emotional rather than rational purchasing cycle, where decisions are no longer guided by brand loyalty but by the urgency to seize the best available deal.
In an economy dominated by chronic inflation and uncertainty, shopper loyalty has dissolved into a reflexive reaction to price stimuli. There is no structural preference, only a daily search for relief from rising costs.
This phenomenon has profoundly reshaped the Argentine retail landscape, creating an ecosystem where price sensitivity overrides every other consumption driver.
A market defined by territory
Yet Argentina cannot be understood through macroeconomics alone. Its agri-food structure is, above all, a mosaic of regional identities. Each province maintains its own culinary traditions and consumption habits, which are reflected on store shelves and strengthen the position of retailers with strong local roots—in much the same way regional differences shape Italy’s North–South divide.
This fragmented cultural and productive fabric has historically been incompatible with the hard discount philosophy, which relies on standardization and uniform pricing.
In Argentina, attempts to replicate models such as D1 in Colombia or Tiendas 3B in Mexico have failed to take hold because Argentine consumers reject homogeneity. They value local flexibility, emotional connection, and immediate response to local deals.
As a result, growth is not coming from hard discount chains but from the wholesale self-service sector, where consumers can access bulk pricing, deep discounts, and promotions that satisfy their constant need for opportunity.
The rise of wholesale: the true refuge of purchasing power
Companies such as Maxiconsumo, Vital, Diarco, and Yaguar are leading this trend with aggressive digitalization strategies, nationwide campaigns like “Black Week Mayorista”, and discounts of up to 40%, attracting both households and small business owners.
At the same time, digital platforms such as Mercado Libre are consolidating a hybrid model that combines volume purchasing with differentiated pricing and tailored services for SMEs and cost-sensitive consumers.
In this environment, the wholesale channel has become the real safe haven for Argentine purchasing power, while “pure” hard discount formats remain marginal within the national retail landscape.
Private labels under inflationary pressure
Another decisive factor is the inability of private labels to achieve sustainable growth in an environment of extreme inflation. Each time raw material prices fluctuate, retailer brands have no room for maneuver.
Without marketing investment or flexibility in the value chain, price adjustments must occur immediately. Both manufacturer and retailer margins are squeezed, and cost increases are passed almost instantly to the consumer, eroding trust and halting the consolidation of private label (MDD) programs.
Strategies of prudence and predictability
In this inflationary storm, the retailers that stand out are those that manage to project stability and predictability.
In 2025, Carrefour distinguished itself with its “Precios Corajudos” (“Courageous Prices”) campaign—freezing over 1,500 essential products for four months, offering a rare sense of calm amid economic turbulence.
The chain also rejected supplier price increases above 10% and reinforced its communication as a protector of consumers’ purchasing power, while competitors like Coto and La Anónima have adopted similar, though less visible, approaches.
The consumer’s only loyalty: survival
Ultimately, the Argentine consumer is not loyal to brands or retail formats—only to their instinct for economic survival.
They seek price, opportunity, and immediacy. Retailers, in turn, respond with containment strategies, massive discounts, and hyper-local operations, striving to maintain balance between persistent inflation and emotionally volatile demand.
In this environment, hard discount remains an absent guest, displaced by a retail ecosystem where the thrill of saving and regional identity outweigh any global model of efficiency.
