Chile electronics in August: -22.6% in stores, +4.7% nationally
By Alexander SchekGo-to-market and sales leadership in Latin America
1 min readElectronics sales in physical stores in the Santiago Metropolitan Region fell 22.6% in real terms in August 2026, according to the CNC. INE's electronics and home line, which covers the whole country and every channel, rose 4.7%. They measure different things, and neither says how much moved online.
Electronics sales in physical stores in the Santiago Metropolitan Region fell 22.6% in real terms in August compared with a year earlier, according to Chile's National Chamber of Commerce (CNC). Year to date, the category is down 21.4%. Total in-store retail in the region fell 0.8%.
Two days later, Chile's National Statistics Institute (INE) published its national retail index for the same month. Sales of "electronic products, home equipment and technology" rose 4.7% in real terms, and retail sales by mail and internet rose 20.6%.
The two releases are not the same measure. The CNC figure covers in-person sales from its panel of retailers in the Metropolitan Region only. INE covers the whole country and every channel, and its line groups electronics with home equipment.
Neither release says how much of Chile's electronics business moved from stores to online channels in August.
Same month, three different readings
Sources: Diario Estrategia, CNC in-store retail sales in the Santiago region, August 2026; INE Chile, Retail Activity Index (IAC), monthly bulletins
Publication: Originally published on my professional LinkedIn on October 6, 2026.