MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican same-store retail sales rose by 10.6% across 2022 compared to the previous year, as the highest inflation in over two decades sent prices soaring, Mexican retailers’ association ANTAD said Wednesday, with sales expected to moderate in 2023.
In 2022, sales at the retail group’s member stores totaled 1.43 trillion Mexican pesos ($76.08 billion).
The retail group said in a statement that surging consumer prices were partly responsible for the sales growth last year, as top-line inflation reached 7.82% in December.
Nonetheless, sales growth slowed slightly from the 13% increase seen in 2021, a year when retail began to rebound after pandemic setbacks but was hampered by supply chain troubles.
The same-store figures reflect sales at stores that have been open for at least a year, not accounting for the 1,390 new ANTAD member stores that opened in 2022.
ANTAD counts nearly 47,000 stores throughout the country as members, including chains like Soriana and Chedraui, but not including retail giant Walmart Mexico.
In 2023, ANTAD projects same-store sales will rise by 5.2% compared to last year.
Data released by Mexico’s national statistics agency Tuesday showed headline inflation accelerated in the first half of January, marking the first monthly pickup since September and exceeding market expectations.
Last year concluded with a 9.0% annual increase in same-store sales in December.
($1 = 18.7958 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Isabel Woodford and Lisa Shumaker)
