The numbers impact. In just four months of 2025, Argentines had already bought online abroad more than last year. Between January and April they were made 402,646 shipments via Courier, for a total of US $ 59.8 millionfigures that duplicate in volume and amount to those of all 2024. Consoles, clothing, accessories and technology lead the ranking of more sought -after products, driven by more competitive prices and deliveries door to increasingly agile door. The change in customs regulations (which raised the top of shipping and simplified procedures), added to the landing of platforms such as Shein and Temufired a boom that already transformed the consumption habits of Argentines and promises to continue growing.
Expanding consumption
“Growth was exponential.” Thus summarizes the phenomenon Santiago García Milan, Country manager of Tendamia for Argentina and Peru. As shown, a button: only during the HOT leaves May, sales tripled and consumption increased by 200% compared to last year. Between January and May, the orders grew by 74% and the billing shot 232%, driven by an average ticket that rose 80% year -on -year. For García Milan, the new customs regulations had a direct impact: “The elimination of tariffs For the first US $ 400 and the increase in the limit of small shipments to US $ 3000 were very favorable. Today consumers can access products that are not found in Argentina or here have much higher prices, now at a much more competitive cost. ”
The Executive explains that the Argentine buyer’s profile also changed: “In the first half of 2025 we grew 60% in new customers and we see users increasingly willing to explore diverse categories. This is key to the development of the ‘crossborder’ in a country that, although it has a very strong local ecommerce, remains one of the least developed in the region in international purchases.” The most wanted categories were clothing, footwear and accessories; Toys and games; Computers and cell phones, with brands such as Adidas, Columbia, Nike, The North Face, Apple, Samsung, JBL or Stanley Among the favorites. Among the best -selling products are the PlayStation 5, the Virtual Reality Viewer Quest 3, Apple’s Mac Mini, the Xiaomi Redmi 13C, the Lego sets and the traditional Thermos Stanley, which shows a demand that combines technology, lifestyle and daily use articles.
This boom also did not go unnoticed by the online purchase-sale giant Mercado Libre, which in December added the possibility of buying United States products directly from the platform, and emphasizes that the reception was immediate. “The possibility of buying in pesos, with free shipping at home and without additional procedures generated a high level of interest from the first moment,” they explain. The categories that are most traction are technology, toys and health, with products such as tablets, notebooks, consoles and cameras among the most sought after. There is also a growing interest in small appliances and supplements, promoted by the competitiveness of prices against local offers.
Although most of Free market sales remain localthe “crossborder” shows high potential. In April, the company enabled a storage center in the United States to expand its international catalog and improve logistics, with delivery times that today are between 10 and 30 days. “We believe that, as more users know this functionality and experience its simplicity and convenience, adoption will continue to accelerate,” they say. The objective is to continue strengthening the international offer with more vendors and categories, always with the backing and confidence of the platform. As they explain, today a user who enters Mercado Libre “has more variety of products, more price competition and more opportunities to choose from than before”, in a context of greater opening and normative simplification that opens new possibilities for consumption.
From China with love
Although if you have to talk about consumerist fever, you may have to look beyond the United States. Platforms like Shein and Temu took the logic of global consumption to another level. Both born in China, operate under a direct consumer model that connects buyers with Chinese factories and vendors, offering ultra low prices and catalogs that are renewed at a dizzying pace. In the case of Shein, world leader in “Fast Fashion”, every day he launches thousands of new items and is positioned as the most unloaded purchasing app in the world. Its success is based on aggressive prices and viral campaigns that especially point to the Z generation and millennials, with capsule collections that change almost daily and encourage the purchase for impulse.
Temu, meanwhile, replied this model with an even broader fan of categories, ranging from home articles to gadgets and fashion accessories. “We offer access to more than 600 categories of products at affordable prices, which we manage to eliminate intermediaries and their costs and margins,” they explain from the company, which works with logistics suppliers to guarantee deliveries and offers a 90 -day reimbursement guarantee. The platform already shows a meteoric growth in the region: in Brazil it became one of the most unloaded ecommerce apps.
To put more firewood on the fire of consumption, In social networks the “hauls” are multiplied, those videos in which influencers and celebrities show in front of the camera everything they bought at bargain prices. Figures like Violeta Urtizberea either Eugenia Tobal have shared their requests from Shein and Temu, reinforcing the feeling of accessibility and abundance that these platforms promote. In Tiktok and Instagram, #Sheinhaul or #Temuhaul labels accumulate millions of visualizations and become showcases that stimulate impulsive purchase.
Both platforms, with their extra low prices and door -to -door deliveries, are redefining consumption habits in Argentina. Experts warn that the model drives an increasingly accelerated consumerism, with frequent purchases of low durability and difficult recycling products, which raises challenges in terms of sustainability and responsible production. The phenomenon shows that the border of consumption is no longer geographical: buying is getting easier and more tempting. The challenge as consumers will be to learn to rethink what, how and why we do it.
Tips to buy
The image and designer advisor Camila Lemos advises planning before buying:
-Make a list and set a budget to avoid impulsive purchases.
-Leer comments and see photos of other users to adjust expectations.
-Revist the size guide and the description and composition of garments to choose better and prioritize quality and durability.
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