Due to the decline in the dollar, imports for consumption grow and purchases by courier reached a record

In the case of door-to-door purchases, in April shipments reached a new all-time high and consolidated a growth trend that had already been observed since the end of 2025.

According to a report from the analytical consultant, imports via courier arrived in April US$118 millionwith a year-on-year jump of 135,9%. The amount exceeded the previous record of December 2025, when they had reached US$ 105 million.

In the accumulated of 2026, these purchases added US$402 millionwhich implies an increase in 123,2% compared to the same period last year. Although they still represent a small portion of the total imported, the report highlighted that in April they were the third most relevant category in the analysis disaggregated to eight digits of the Mercosur nomenclature.

The phenomenon occurs in a context of exchange stability and recovery of wages measured in dollars. According to Analytica, the registered private salary accumulates a 14.5% recovery in US currency since November, despite the fact that in real terms (that is, compared to inflation) it showed a 4.8% drop between September and March, with seven consecutive months of decline in inflation.

“The sharp increase in purchases via courier is not a reflection of a jump in mass consumption, but rather the replacement of some locally produced goods with foreign ones“said Analytica economist Claudio Caprarulo.

And he added that “in quantities, only the import of cars increased and marginally that of consumer goods, while in the rest of the categories there were falls”.

In parallel, another report mentioned that the growth in imports of consumer goods takes place in a context in which the general trend in recent months is that the economy demands fewer imports.

“The record trade surplus does not only occur because exports are growing, driven by both the price and quantity of oil and gold; Imports linked to production also contracted“said the economist of Balance, Laura Vernelli.

According to Vernelli, from 2025 imports associated with production accumulate a 10% dropwhile those of final consumer goods grew 21%.

According to Indec data, Consumer goods in March represented 15% of total imports. These products include semi-durable consumer items (clothing, footwear, thermoses or video game consoles) and also others like medicines, herbicides, books, perfumes, tobacco, razors, various foods, candy and alcoholic beverages.

Another indicator that shows the increase in expenses in dollars is the use of credit cards for consumption in foreign currency. According to data from the Central Bank, at the end of April the open balance of cards in dollars reached US$ 802 million, one of the highest levels in recent years.

Even in the last days of January, these balances had reached US$870 million. According to the financial consulting firm 1816, it was the highest value recorded so far.

Sources from the financial system attribute this growth mainly to expenses for trips abroad. Courier purchases appear in second placethey say in the banks. To a lesser extent, payments for digital services and streaming platforms that are billed in dollars also have an impact.