Argentines are snapping up Apple computers, Lego sets, and Stanley thermoses from overseas as President Javier Milei’s libertarian reforms pry open an economy long sealed by tariffs and import controls, the Financial Times reported.
Consumer goods imports jumped 55% in 2025 from a year earlier to a record $11.4 billion, according to official data.
Cross-border online shopping surged even faster: Argentines bought nearly three times more goods via international ecommerce platforms, with purchases reaching a record $955 million as companies such as Amazon, Shein, and Temu gained a foothold in the country for the first time.
The surge follows Milei’s rollback of protectionist policies that had made foreign products scarce and costly.
Among last year’s top sellers on regional ecommerce site Tiendamia were a Harry Potter Lego flying car, Apple’s 2024 Mac Mini, and a 940-milliliter Stanley flask.
“Argentina sales increased 55% year on year in 2025,” said Santiago García Milán, Tiendamia’s country manager.
Regulatory changes have helped fuel the boom. In November 2024, Milei raised the value cap for courier shipments from $1,000 to $3,000 and allowed individuals to import up to $400 tariff-free each year.
The result has been a lift in direct-to-consumer overseas orders — still niche in Argentina, but growing quickly after pandemic-era gains and the 2022–2023 inflation crisis.
“There used to be a big risk that your overseas order would get stuck in customs and never arrive,” said Natacha Izquierdo, a director at Abeceb consultancy. “Now everything flows, so you are seeing a big jump — albeit from a very small baseline.”
Izquierdo added that Argentina’s overall import levels remain well below those of regional peers.
Global players are moving fast. Amazon began offering free U.S. delivery to Argentina in late 2024 and later added the country to its ultra-low-cost Amazon Bazaar app.
Shein and Temu recorded their first major Argentine sales in 2025, as consumer goods imports from China doubled to $1.9 billion.
Social media has since filled with influencers flaunting their first hauls, and a Shein resale shop opened in Buenos Aires last year.
Price gaps are driving demand. On Tiendamia, Stanley flasks — uberpopular in Argentinian culture — sell for about 45% less than at the brand’s official local store.
International platforms also offer wider selection than domestic retailers, which struggle with high production costs and taxes.
The shift has sparked backlash at home.
Argentina’s textile industry, long shielded by steep tariffs, is urging Congress to act against what it calls unfair competition from Chinese ecommerce groups.
The sector has lost 16,000 jobs — about 13% of its workforce — since Milei took office, according to the Federation of Argentine Textile Industries.
Tensions are also rising with Mercado Libre, the country’s dominant ecommerce platform.
Last August, the company filed a complaint with the economy ministry accusing Temu of misleading advertising and unfair practices. Temu denies the claims, and Argentina’s Supreme Court is expected to take up the case.
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