Paraguay has become the new mecca for tech shoppers. It's not Chile or Bolivia, but Ciudad del Este, a city on the banks of the Paraná River, reachable in one hour and ten minutes from the Iguazú Falls. The city is part of the Triple Border, alongside Brazil and Paraguay.
Christmas shopping by Argentines in Paraguay has increased thanks to instant digital payments, which have become the preferred choice for tourists and are giving a significant boost to the local economy. Searches were focused on technological products, home appliances, and clothing, with prices up to 50% lower than in Argentina.
Among the most in-demand items are televisions, drones, speakers, and video game consoles. The fintech company PagBrasil implemented the Pix Internacional payment solution, which has made it the most popular platform in Brazil worldwide. Pix Internacional and Pix Roaming allow Pix to be used across borders, connecting merchants, digital wallets, and payment systems in different regions of the planet. It is already enabled in over 35,000 businesses in Paraguay.
Every day, more and more Argentine tourists cross the border by car or bus to take advantage of the currency exchange rate and the lower tax burden of the neighboring country, and in this way to get mobile phones, tablets, notebooks, and electronic watches up to 50% cheaper than in the local market. Local businesses report that Argentines already represent nearly 40% of their sales, a phenomenon that has grown exponentially in recent months.
Tourism packages that include a tour of the seventh wonder of the world now include a shopping tour to Paraguay's second-largest city, after the capital Asunción. With the discounts available and the ease of bringing purchased merchandise across the border, the deals are very tempting. If you invest the $3,000 customs-free allowance, you can get a benefit of up to $1,500 compared to local prices, which would help pay for part of the trip.
While in Argentina the VAT reaches 21% and tariffs make any imported product more expensive, in Paraguay the value-added tax is 10%, which directly impacts final prices, to which is added the economic stability of Paraguay and a much lower inflation rate.
Tech Purchases
The price differences are so marked that consumers do not hesitate to travel exclusively to make technology purchases. In Ciudad del Este, a 1TB Slim 4K PlayStation 5 Digital Edition costs close to $780, while in Argentina it exceeds $1,400. A 256GB iPhone 16 Pro Max, which locally costs around $1,279, can be found in Paraguay for just $716, representing a 45% savings.
Among the most chosen items by Argentine tourists are:
Nintendo Switch 2 (with up to a 56% discount if purchased with the Mario Kart game). MacBook Air 13” (at $1,285, 47% less than in Argentina). Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport tires, which cost $100 in Paraguay versus $250 in the Argentine market.
To these categories are added perfumes, cosmetics, and home accessories, where discounts can reach 60%.
Borderless Discounts
During the last Black Friday in Ciudad del Este, the commercial fair that unites Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina launched an aggressive campaign titled: "Borderless Discounts." The edition saw a record attendance of 300,000 visitors. Notebooks were sold for $80 or exclusive perfumes for $10, as part of an event that brought together more than 90 companies and was declared of tourist interest by Paraguay's National Secretariat of Tourism (Senatur).
It is consolidating as the largest commercial movement in the Triple Border, covering sectors such as electronics, fashion, and home appliances, although scenes of crowding marked the opening day.
The currency exchange rate continues to drive this border movement despite customs restrictions.
