What are Argentinians looking for most when they come to buy in Chile?

With suitcases in both hands, THE Argentinians They come to the shopping centers of Chile to stock up on all kinds of products who, in their own inflation-stricken countries, are sold at a much higher price.

“In Chile, clothes are really given” And “It is advisable to buy clothes in Chile” These are some of the comments that Argentinian content creators have shared on their social networks to show how “cheap” it is to travel to Santiago or Punta Arenas to do their shopping or purchases.

And the price comparisons they make don’t lie: In Argentina, a pair of sports shoes costs around 178,500 Chilean pesos. while in the country’s stores foreigners can find the same model at 55,990.

In other words, there is an impressive savings margin of approximately 120,000 pesos.

Whether by plane, bus or car, Argentines cross the mountain range to find cheaper products. In shopping centers it has become common to see them hanging around large suitcases that they fill with sneakers, clothes, electronic devices and even supermarket products.

But, according to a recent report from Meganoticias , What Argentines are looking for most are “recognized brands, mainly linked to sport”.

Bernardita Silva, head of studies at National Chamber of Commerce declared to the same media that the arrival of the Argentines This is “a temporary phenomenon due to price differences and the better conditions that exist today in Chile compared to the neighboring country”.

“We also see that in the most popular categories, where there is the greatest difference in price, it is in electrical items, clothing and shoes.

Between January and August, arrivals of Argentines increased by 50% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Furthermore, according to data from National Tourism Service (Sernatur) , Between January and June, Chile received a total of 979,587 Argentine visitors.

“This year 2024, we are experiencing more than double-digit growth. So we are happy on that side and we attribute a lot of it to the Argentines,” said team manager Juan Carlos Gerard. Easton Outlet Shopping Center in the news Mega.

After Javier Milei became president of Argentina, one of his first measures to reduce inflation and the economic crisis that the country had been going through for years was devalue the peso by 54% against the US dollar.

Before that, the shopping phenomenon was reversed. : Argentina was a cheap country for foreigners, and many Chileans crossed the border to buy products in supermarkets or clothes, because the prices were quite low.

But this panorama has completely disappeared and Prices of goods and services in the neighboring country have increased due to several factors. Among themhigh taxes and dollar inflation in mass consumer goods. All this, while the salaries of Argentines remain the same.

For Juan Ortiz, economist at Diego Portales University Milei’s economic policies made it possible to “contain the speed of inflation and once again record increasingly limited rates of intermonthly variation”.

Despite this, the expert said The country that “The reality for ordinary people is that in Argentina the prices of goods and services are much higher than a year ago.”

The same media spoke with the administrator of an exchange house in the municipality of Providencia in mid-May. The man said that The profile of the Argentinians he saw in his business had “sufficient purchasing power to exchange amounts ranging from $500 to $2,000.”

It’s between 480,600 and 1,900,000 Chilean pesos approximately.

Meanwhile, Argentines who arrived in the country a few weeks ago, taking advantage of a long vacation that allowed them to travel briefly, said Meganoticias that shopping in Chile that “stopping at the point of sale is sacred”.

“There we buy one item of clothing and here we buy two”, “it’s less than half of what is sold there”, “50 or 60 percent cheaper” are some of the comments expressed by the Argentines interviewed by the television news.