QCOSTARICA – “Cuesta de Enero” (January Slope) is the term used for the decrease in purchases in Costa Rica, a month that for many means less money, reducing purchases and budget restrictions, according to data from Kantar, a leading consulting and insights agency.
In the last 3 years, according to Kantar, the month of January represents 5% less purchases towards products of the mass consumption basket.
In January, faced with bills from the previous month’s spending and the start of the new school year (this 2022 pushed to February 17), consumers in Costa Rican reduce their purchases driving the contraction of retail sales.
“The well-known January slope is motivated by the additional expenses that we have in the month of December, many Costa Ricans spend more during the holidays forgetting to leave a reserve (of money) in January, so many see their budget tight at the beginning of the year,” Commented Vivian Gálvez, General Manager for Central America of Kantar Worldpanel division
If we compare the purchases of the last 3 years of the month of December versus January, we see that the beauty basket is one of the most affected in the new year.
Top 5 sectors most affected in the January slope in the last 3 years:
- Beauty on average falls -27%
- Proteins and frozen -9%
- Dairy -7%
- Cleaning and disinfection -5%
- Basic and necessary food -5%
“While in the month of December the beauty sector is one of those that picks up the most in purchases among shoppers motivated by wanting to look good at parties and for seasonal gifts, by the beginning of the year it is no longer a priority in the shopping cart,” said Gálvez.
But not everything is bad for 2022, according to the Consumer Watch study, 40% of Costa Ricans hope that the country’s economy will be better than last year and with this their pocket will also benefit.
From Revista Summa
