Mexican Consumer Spending Increases 6.2%, But Purchase Volume Stagnates

Mexican consumers are spending more, but not bringing more products home. A NielsenIQ analysis reveals that while the market registered a 6.2% growth in value, the volume purchased remained at 0.0%, reflecting more cautious and strategic households in the current economic environment. This behavior aligns with a 2.7 percentage point annual drop in consumer confidence in January 2026 and slower per capita labor income growth. For NIQ, this scenario is altering how families decide where, how much, and how often they shop.

Hard Discounters Lead Spending Growth in Mexico

The performance also shows significant differences across retail channels. In the 12 months leading up to February 2026, hard discounters saw a 23.3% increase in spending, the largest gain among the analyzed formats. They were followed by:

• Wholesalers: 15.2%
• Convenience stores and mini-markets: 6.0%
• Traditional channel: 5.6%
• Supermarkets: 5.4%
• Price clubs: 5.2%
• Pharmacies: 3.7%

However, volume presented a more moderate behavior. Hard discounters, wholesalers, price clubs, and pharmacies recorded advances, while the rest of the channels reported contractions ranging from 0.2% to 1.5%. In terms of market share, the traditional channel accounts for 34.9%, followed by supermarkets with 31.3%. Price clubs represent 4.9% and wholesalers 4.0%.

36.2% of Mexican Households Shop at Price Clubs

One of the channels gaining relevance among consumers is price clubs, whose penetration reached 36.2% of Mexican households by the end of February. The average ticket was 719 pesos, an increase of 54.8 pesos compared to a year prior. Additionally, shoppers make an average of 10.5 visits per year and purchase 8.5 items per basket, primarily for replenishing household products. “We are observing that consumers are making larger purchases at price clubs, which directly impacts the number of visits they make,” explained Laura Calderón, Customer Success Retail Leader at NielsenIQ Mexico. According to the specialist, this behavior is driven by the search for greater value per transaction in a context where household income faces greater pressures.

What Mexicans Buy at Price Clubs

Within this channel, Food concentrates 38.7% of spending, followed by Cleaning and Household Supplies with 27.5%, Personal Care and Beauty with 12.1%, and Beverages with 8.4%. However, five of the eight analyzed categories registered an annual decrease in units sold:

• Alcoholic Beverages: -17.6%
• Pharmacy: -3.8%
• Baby: -1.9%
• Confectionery: -1.2%
• Cleaning and Household Supplies: -0.8%

Spending at price clubs is also primarily concentrated among higher-income households. The high socioeconomic level represents 56.3% of the channel’s spending, followed by the middle level with 30.5% and the low level with 13.2%.

Mexican Consumers Prioritize Value Over Volume

NielsenIQ data points to a consumer who seeks to maximize the return on each purchase, resorting to formats that offer competitive prices, larger volume purchases, or replenishment schemes. The fact that spending is increasing while purchased units remain stagnant indicates a market where families are allocating more resources without necessarily increasing the quantity of products acquired. In this scenario, formats like hard discounters and price clubs are gaining ground against households looking to protect their budgets and obtain greater value in each transaction.

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