Mexico’s Retail Renaissance: A Fistful of Pesos
Ah, the retail sector of Mexico, flexing its muscles with a dazzling 2.3 percent growth in the first half of 2021. Yes, that’s right! According to the National Association of Self-service and Department Stores (ANTAD)—because every country needs a mouthful of acronyms—our beloved shops are slowly dragging themselves back from the grave. But hang on! They’re still a solid 6.3 percent behind the glory days of 2019—back when we didn’t know what “social distancing” meant and online shopping was just considered lazy.
From January to June 2021, retail sales raked in a whopping 598.3 billion Mexican pesos (or about $30 billion for those who like their money labeled in a way resembling actual currency). Meanwhile, last year’s sales were a mere 584.4 billion pesos ($29.3 billion). Poor sales were hardly surprising since everyone was too busy staying at home, conducting their deep existential crises.
Janneth Quiroz, Deputy Director of Analysis at Grupo Financiero Monex, said with all the optimism of a puppy waiting for its owner to return home, “Yes, there’s recovery. But really, it resembles a turtle climbing a mountain.” She pointed out that while the consumption is making a comeback, it’s doing so at a speed that might make a sloth look like Usain Bolt—especially when you compare it to countries that actually engaged in fiscal and monetary stimulus, which sounds suspiciously like a nice way of saying “printing more money.”
But wait, June has thrown us a curveball. ANTAD reports that sales in June leaped a dramatic 21 percent compared to June 2020! Should we send in the clowns, or is this actually good news? Last year, the retail sector took quite a hit, with sales dwindling down by a tragic 17.9 percent—thank you, pandemic, for that lovely little dose of reality.
Don’t get too excited yet, though. This growth translates to stores simply going from “completely devastated” to “marginally okay,” and we all know how much fun it is to celebrate mediocrity. It’s like throwing a party for your pet rock because it finally rolled over.
And for those who thought investing was just a high-stakes card game: Unilever recently declared a grand investment of 5.5 billion Mexican pesos ($275.2 million) to expand the production capacity of its four manufacturing facilities in the country. Apparently, even Unilever felt the need to inject a little pep into the production process—perhaps because they were tired of playing Monopoly alone.
So here’s to Mexico’s retail sector, inching its way back into our hearts and wallets. As we lustfully await the day when we can freely wander aisles without fearing for our lives, remember this: If we’re going to spend our hard-earned pesos, let’s at least do it in style—and maybe grab a few money-saving hacks along the way. After all, who doesn’t enjoy holding on to a few extra pesos for that ‘rainy day’—or, you know, a spontaneous taco run?
