The Argentine home appliance market grew 20% in sales in the first quarter of the year, while in that period it was among the items that had the highest number of transactions through the Ahora 12 program.

According to a market study by the consulting firm GfK, sales of household appliances during the first quarter of the year registered a 20% growth in units sold, compared to the same period in 2021.

During the period, air conditioning was the sector that led the growth, given that the segment's sales grew more than 33.4% in terms of units, helped by the high temperatures of the summer season.

In this sense, the air conditioning segment grew 55% in units sold in the total quarter, with growth peaks of 93% in January.

"As for the back to school event, notebooks showed a positive growth of 32% in units sold compared to 2021 while multifunction printers only 4%. It is worth noting that the growth of notebooks in the online channel was 74% in units, positioning itself as the fifth best-selling category in this channel, during the first quarter", highlighted Milagros Bin, retail manager of the specialized consulting firm GfK Argentina.

On the other hand, he pointed out that "the online channel represented 19% of the units sold in the first quarter of 2022, thereby showing a growth of 18% compared to the same period in 2021."

“Smartphones continue to be the leading category in both online sales and physical sales, although their participation in online is accentuated, which represents 34% of the sales volume of this channel”Bin said.

The growth of the online market, very accelerated during 2020 due to the context of confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic, grew again in 2021.

According to the Association of Argentine Electronics Terminal Factories (Afarte), based on information from GfK, during the first quarter of 2022, almost 430,000 televisions were sold, 22% more than a year ago; and 292,272 air conditioners, 24% more than in the first quarter of 2021, the entity indicated to Télam.

Although growth is observed in the electro market compared to 2021, it is important to highlight that the figures still do not reach those of 2017, the year with the highest number of units in the last ten, the consulting firm noted.

Within the Now 12 program, the financing of household appliances was the one that registered the largest number of operations in January, February and March, months in which it grew 35%, 28% and 29% year-on-year, respectively.

According to the latest data from the Center for Production Studies (CEP XXI), in April the financing of Ahora 12 in this segment grew 40.5% compared to 2021 and 38% compared to 2020, only behind clothing.

Now 12 offers 12, 18 and 24 installments in white goods - air conditioners, air and/or ventilation conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers, kitchens, ovens and stoves, heaters and stoves, hot water tanks and water heaters, refrigerators, freezers and freezers-; on all models of televisions and monitors; and on computers, notebooks and tablets.

Likewise, the program, which is valid until June 30, allows you to finance the purchase of small appliances - electric kettles, blenders, food processors, mixers, toasters, among others - in 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 installments.

Rafael Vieyra, general director of Newsan Electrical Appliances, told Télam that “the growth we are observing has to do with a recovery after years of declines essentially caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

"We are returning to similar volumes prior to 2018, a year of disruption for the markets; we understand that this is due, on the one hand, to the general movement of the economy and secondly, to the user's perception of durable goods as a source of protection against an inflationary context and wide exchange gap.", held.

According to the survey of appliance and household goods businesses prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), in the first quarter total sales of the sector were recorded for $90,115 million, with a year-on-year increase of 52.3% at current prices.

In the first quarter of 2022, the groups of items whose sales had the greatest increases were personal care, with $2,364.6 million and a percentage variation compared to the same period of the previous year of 215.6%; air conditioning and air conditioning equipment, with $12,053.8 million and a variation of 103.1% compared to the same quarter of 2021; refrigerators and freezers, with $11,282.4 million and an interannual percentage variation of 71.8%; and washing machines, dryers and dishwashers, with $6,603.4 million and an interannual percentage variation of 64.9%, according to Indec.