Supermarkets in Uruguay

Posted on February 20, 2007
Filed Under Montevideo, Food and Drink, Expat Tips | 4 Comments

Couldn’t I find a more boring subject than supermarkets in Uruguay? Apparently not. Believe it or not, I am fascinated by supermarkets. Whenever I go on vacation to another country, I love to spend time visiting supermarkets, the way some people visit cathedrals or museums. I feel you learn a lot about a country by looking at what people buy and what they eat.

To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that a significant percentage of Uruguayans still shop for groceries and other items at street markets and small shops rather than in large supermarkets. In contrast to neighboring Brazil and Argentina where most consumers do all their shopping at supermarkets. This trend toward larger, more elaborately produced stores is catching on in Uruguay however. Even though, at present, the large, modern style supermarkets are found mostly in parts of Montevideo and the coastal areas on the way to Punta del Este.

There are five large supermarket chains operating in Uruguay: Tienda Inglesa, Disco, Devoto, MultiAhorro and Tata. Tienda Inglesa, more than the others, targets the upscale market, with large modern stores, good presentation, a lot of specialty items, but with a style that is a bit gimmicky. Disco, which is owned by the same group that owns Géant and Devoto, is in my opinion the best. Their newer stores, like the one in the Punta Carretas Shopping Mall or the one in Atlántida, emphasize fresh products and have a very pleasant layout. Also the price and variety of offerings is about right. Devoto is slightly less flashy but has several interesting stores, like the one on Coronel Mora in Punta Carretas. Multiahorro is probably the chain with most stores in Uruguay and it targets the lower income segment. Perhaps that’s why it is more heavily present in barrios of Montevideo away from the coast. The products sold at MultiAhorro tend toward the affordable and the basic, except for the meat department which is excellent. The product presentation in the stores is no-frills. Tata is, well, odd. It is a supermarket with an identity crisis, not sure whether it is a supermarket or a dollar store. The layout and presentation are very confusing and unappealing. I actually went to several stores (4) to confirm if this was a theme, it is.

All chains mentioned above allow you to shop online and have groceries delivered to your home. All of them sell alcoholic beverages, from beer to Scotch. Tienda Inglesa as well as several of the Disco stores have a great selection of South American wines of every price. If you live abroad and would like to check the prices of groceries in Uruguay, the Tienda Inglesa site can be set to display prices in US dollars.

All these chains also have a courtesy card that entitles you to special deals and discounts. Here’s what you’ll need to apply for a card: a document, such as a passport or a cedula de identidad and an address. No proof of address is required, so you can make one up if you want (I did). MultiAhorro has the simplest process: an attendant takes your document, asks for your address, fills out a form and two minutes later you have a discount card you can use. Disco was the second easiest. You fill out the form, including a questionnaire about your shopping habits and they hand you a Tarjeta Mas, on the spot. Devoto and Tienda Inglesa in mind-boggling bureaucratic zeal, require the customer to return to the store to get the card 7-10 days later.

Perhaps because of the relative small percentage of car ownership in Uruguay, small supermarkets and grocery stores are ubiquitous and evenly spread throughout Montevideo. However, these stores have a much smaller number of products which are sold at slightly higher prices. The bigger stores in this class are: El Dorado, MicroMacro, SuperFresco, Frigo, La Colonial.

As might be anticipated, supermarket prices in resort towns are more expensive than in Montevideo in order to amortize infrastructure costs during the off-season. These prices are monitored by the government and are published regularly. Here’s an interesting link showing what the government considers the “basic” items for a Uruguayan family on vacation at the beach (please note the 1Kg of Yerba Mate). Here’s a link to a document that ranks the various chains as of 2005.

Macro Mercado is a newer supermarket specialized in selling in large quantities. Unfortunately, I only found out about it near the end of our vacation in Montevideo. And since, at my insistence, we had already shopped at more than 14 supermarkets, when I asked my wife whether we should make time to see MacroMercado. Only if they sell shotguns, she replied. Since I was afraid to ask what the shotgun was for, I decided to skip it.

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4 Responses to “Supermarkets in Uruguay”

Lisa on March 9th, 2007 3:19 pm

Brazzie-
This info is great! Especially the links to the on-line supermarkets. My spanish teacher has incorporated this into the classwork for building vocabulary and other exercises about comparative cost of living. Very cool.
Daniel on March 13th, 2007 12:31 pm

I think the nicest Devoto supermarket it’s located in the Portones Shopping Center.

They also have some very nice ones in Piriapolis and Punta del Este.
valentina (16 year old from Uruguay) on May 22nd, 2007 9:34 pm

In my opinion, supermarkets in Uruguay are great!!!!
I think that the best is Tienda Inglesa because it has everything you can find in a supermarket, although the prices are more expensive than others (but it does not matter). And Tienda Inglesa also prepares aleman parties. It means that you can go and eat different kind of foods and drinks (with moderation), the different parties last just one week but its very fun!!! So if you have time, go to one. It’s a good idea !!
Brazzie on May 23rd, 2007 5:40 am

Thanks Valentina for the tip. Next time I’m there I’ll keep my eyes open for these events.

Supermarkets in Uruguay

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