in May, sales fell 4.8% in the province and 18% in Córdoba capital

In May, Cordovan commerce once again had negative indices in terms of sales. In the city of Cordovaand according to data from the Commercial Observatory carried out by the consultancy Perspectivas Sociales for the Córdoba Chamber of Commerce (CCC), unit sales fell 18% compared to May 2022.

Compared to the previous month (April 2023), the decrease in units was 12%; and 65% of the merchants stated that they had invoiced below their expectations.

In all the provincial territory, meanwhile, the monitoring carried out by the Commercial Federation of Córdoba (Fedecom) specified that retail sales of SMEs ended May with a fall of 4.8% compared to the same month of the previous year. With this data, there are already 12 months of consecutive year-on-year drops. It is worth remembering that in May 2022, compared to May 2021, sales had increased 2.5%.

“The constant rise in prices continues to be largely responsible for the fall in the purchasing power of families and therefore in the sales of merchants. The trade situation is very delicate”, said Fausto Brandolin, president of Fedecom.

Within this adverse general framework, the premises located in malls of Córdoba capital –they began to be monitored by the CCC that month– They are the ones that stand out for maintaining their sales levels at a constant rate. Conversely, “small merchants” are the ones who suffered the most from the decrease.

The declines in year-on-year and month-on-month returns were 14% and 8%, respectively. “The merchants located in the Yofre neighborhood and in the central area of ​​Córdoba were the ones who felt the most impact of the inter-monthly and inter-annual falls, both in volume and profitability”; the CCC specified.

The average ticket in major was $23,033.

Variation by items

In the city of Córdoba, “fashion accessories” registered the largest falls compared to 2022 (-47%) and last April (-22%).

In “clothing”, a very massive category in the sector, the level of units sold decreased by 13% month-on-month and 18% year-on-year. The average ticket was $11,137.

At the provincial level, meanwhile, the performance of the items was as follows:

• Food and beverages (-6.4%)
• Sports and recreation articles (-5.5%)
• Footwear and leather goods (-5.4%)
• Home appliances and electronic items (-7.0%)
• Pharmacy 1.3%
• Hardware, electrical materials and construction materials (-1.9%)
• Clothing (-4.1%)
• Toy store and bookstores (-4.6%)
• Furniture and decoration (-4.3%)
• Tires and spare parts (-6.7%)
• Perfumery and cosmetics 1.5%

“Once again, the drop observed in food and beverages stands out, an item in which the use of credit cards is already evident. Regarding forms of payment, 45% of the transactions were made with a credit card, and 55% in cash, taking advantage of offers or discounts”, reported from Fedecom.