Credits: FashionUnited ai Consumer prices (March) Headline consumer-price inflation in Mexico accelerated to 4.59 percent year-on-year in March, according to Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the highest reading since October 2024 on the back of a 0.86 percent monthly rise. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel components, sat at plus 4.45 percent, largely unchanged from February. Clothing, footwear and accessories ran at approximately 2.8 percent year-on-year, according to INEGI — tracking close to the 2.7 percent recorded in February and well below the headline rate. The categories driving March’s headline acceleration were fruits and vegetables, energetics, restaurants and alcoholic beverages, not fashion. In real terms, Mexican clothing prices remain broadly stable even as the overall cost of living rises. Retail sales (January — latest available) Real retail income in Mexico rose 1.0 percent month-on-month and 4.7 percent year-on-year in January, according to INEGI’s Monthly Trade Survey (EMEC); average real remuneration in the sector rose 1.9 percent on the month and 7.0 percent on the year. February EMEC data publishes in mid-May and March data in mid-June, so writers should pull ANTAD’s aggregate same-store-sales bulletin at publication time for the most recent monthly directional signal. The January print confirms real incomes are still expanding faster than inflation, a supportive backdrop for fashion retail even with consumer confidence subdued. Consumer sentiment (March) Mexico’s Consumer Confidence Index (ICC) stood at 44.1 points in March, down 0.3 points on the month, according to the joint INEGI and Bank of…
