In the manner of a wrecking ball, the stampede of the dollar completely changed the economic landscape of Argentines.
Product of the new scenario that left the STEP, the pockets received the impact of the rise in the currency that, tied to the generalized paranoia of the markets, jumped from $ 46 to $ 58 in just two days.With an inflation that in the interannual calculation spider 55%, the Argentineans have already become accustomed to the sudden changes of quotation and its transfer to prices. Now, the 23% devaluation accumulated only between Monday and Tuesday threatens to cool even more a consumption that is already "below zero".
Between constant remarks and an uncertainty that does not allow to see the horizon, ordinary citizens adapt their way of buying. Thus, the wallet is programmed in "crisis" mode.
"The Argentine consumer became a multishopper. That is, it combines between proximity, supermarkets and wholesalers," Luis Alfredo Rodríguez of Kantar Worldpanel assures iProUP.
Beyond the chosen channel, the truth is that today few leave aside the day in which they can get the biggest discounts, what promo their bank or card offers them and in which establishment they can make their money pay more.
This need to make a "smart purchase" is what explains a strong fact: the app queries that compare prices multiplied no less than 10 in the last year and exploded even more after the earthquake on Monday."The accesses to the platform grew by more than 40% compared to Tuesday of last week," he tells iProUP Matías Boyano, creator of Buying, which accounts for more than one million monthly visits.
On the other hand, Ignacio de la Fuente, creator of the History price comparison service, tells iProUP: "We are noticing a 60% increase compared to the days before the primary elections".
"On Tuesday people reacted stronger, there was more movement in values. On Monday these variations were concentrated in the morning," he adds. So far in 2019, its service multiplied traffic by up to 9.
Regarding price increases, the platforms coincide. In some cases, they reach up to 70%. The confusion is such that drawing a clear reference is impossible.The cell phone in the super
Three years ago, the Government launched the Prices Claros website, which displays the amounts of 9,000 products and 109 categories reported by supermarkets.
By entering the name of an item, the system allows you to view the closest shops where it is sold and its corresponding amount. In addition, it allows the creation of a "list of errands" and exposes the special promotions of each establishment. This data is offered to developers to create their own apps.One of the most consulted is Buying, which allows you to search for the different amounts by typing the name of the article or scanning your barcode with the cell phone camera, to find out if it is cheap or expensive before adding it to the changuito.
It also identifies the trade in the area where the lowest price is achieved.
"The list of most sought after products was changing based on inflation. Before, people focused on the most expensive. But now we have observed a shift towards basic basket items, such as milk, noodles and cream cheese," he says. Boyano, who created the application with Oscar Goenaga.
Ensures that people achieve savings of up to 40%. As a differential, the app not only relieves Clear Price information but users can scan products and publish the values to let others know where to get them. A kind of "Waze" of recommendations.
"Chinese supermarkets are also there. While the platform feeds on Clear Prices, the reality is that we encourage people to share offers, which is highly valued in the interior," completes Boyano.
"The app also shows a 'little pig', indicating that it applies a promotion for that product," he says, adding that the platform shows the conditions for accessing discounts, such as bank cards or loyalty programs.IPhone users also have apps to buy prices. One of them is Where I Buy, created by Kevin Furman, who works as an application developer in Despegar.
In addition, individual items allow you to compare the cost of a changuito loaded with merchandise in different stores. According to Furman, the application "relieves the 25 supermarkets closest to your home, which are less than 4 km away, depending on the concentration of shops in the area."
"Something innovative, and that is not in the Government app, is the possibility of putting together a tour. The platform is guiding you to acquire such items in a supermarket and such others in the nearest mini-market," he tells iProUP.
It also allows scanning of barcodes to see if it is cheaper elsewhere or if you respect the published price. If not fulfilled, the user can claim in the establishment and even has a button to report it in Consumer Defense.
In the future, it points to the user indicating their favorite categories on the main screen of the app, in which the featured products are displayed.
"I set some that seemed interesting to me, where there was a lot of value dispersion, such as wines, where differences of up to 40% are found," he adds. He also says he will add the prices of wholesale supermarkets.Electro and techno, with high risesThe app to compare amounts of appliances, technology and household items experience a strong growth so far this year.
One of them is History, which offers a comparison and a price history so that people can check if the value of a product is reasonable or can be lower. "The searches multiplied between 9 and 10 times," he tells iProUP De la Fuente, who also says that the most searched items are white goods.
Inflation is a great challenge when updating the information of the platform, so they adapt the dates from which they perform the price comparison.
"We see that what stores do is freeze the amount of the product through promotions. They give 30% one day and 5% the other to change values without people complaining so much," reveals the programmer.Regarding the days of Monday and Tuesday, the specialist reveals that the platform registered increases of up to 60% in technology in the early hours of Monday.
"In the afternoon there were between 30% and 40%, which remains until now. There are some stores that reacted faster than others. There are also platforms canceling orders made on the weekend, according to what they tell us users, "De la Fuente emphasizes.
In addition, he clarifies: "Regarding products for sale in Mercado Libre, in office items that have interest-free fees, we saw increases of up to 70%."
Another of the options available for the Argentine pocket is MuyShopper, which compares online stores.
It highlights the stores that sell a product and highlights the one that offers it cheaper. The app records the data of a hundred businesses, to which it enters between two and three times a day to verify the amounts.For their part, the owners of the tourism metasearch engine TurismoCity created ComparaCity, which focuses on household items. Just enter an article to find the best options for each establishment. You can also check if the product increased at the time of purchase.
"Users don't just want to save: they look for prices because they don't want to pay more," says Julian Gurfinkel, one of its founders, to iProUP.
Knowing where to get the lowest price is not enough: you also have to make sure that it is respected and that the products are in stock. Especially, those included in the programs Price Care and Essential Products.
With decimated pockets, the middle class glimpses in the apps that compare prices a way not to lose so much in the face of inflation that continues without giving truce.