Argentine households' consumption experienced a huge rebound during the first half of 2025 thanks to the government of Javier Milei. According to the Family Consumption Indicator (ICF) developed by Poliarquía Consultores, the index increased by 45% compared to the same period of the previous year.
With this performance, the semester ranked as the third highest since 2008, surpassed only by the second semesters of 2011 and 2015, both electoral years characterized by a notable expansion of spending.
The ICF is a tool recently developed by Poliarquía to closely monitor the evolution of family consumption, a key variable that directly affects the social climate and, therefore, political and electoral support for governments.
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The indicator is based on a nationwide monthly survey that collects data on purchases in two representative categories: household appliances and clothing. Both sectors are considered highly sensitive to households' disposable income and quickly reflect changes in their spending capacity.
In this edition, the sub-index corresponding to household appliances showed a significantly faster recovery, with a year-on-year jump of 78% during the first semester. Meanwhile, the clothing and footwear category showed a more moderate increase of 17% compared to the same period in 2024.
"This difference in growth rates suggests that the consumption rebound is being led by durable goods, which are more sensitive to access to credit, economic expectations, and income recovery," explained the consulting firm.
Javier Milei y Luis Caputo.
More consumption among the poorest sectors
According to the report, consumption growth during the first half of 2025 was especially notable among historically more vulnerable sectors. This expansion reflects an improvement in access to goods and services for lower-income households.
The rebound was also more intense among those over 50 years old, retirees, and residents of the country's interior. "This data suggests that the recovery is being driven by popular sectors, many of whom had shown extremely low consumption levels during the first semester of the libertarian administration," Poliarquía noted.
