Xin Ou
Research expert covering Greater China
Consumer behavior in Italy - statistics & facts
Italy, with its population of roughly 60 million people, is home to great food, major fashion brands, quality cars, and strikingly proud consumers. The results of a survey conducted in mid-2023 showed that about 70 percent of Italians were more likely to buy from a company they knew was based in their home country. Furthermore, some six in 10 Italian shoppers believed products “Made in Italy” are superior to those made abroad.
As of mid-2024, plenty of shoppers were still struggling with this increased cost of living: when asked if they had traded down (i.e., bought cheaper equivalents to products or shopped at lower-priced retailers) in the past three months, some 85 percent of low-income consumers in Italy responded that they had. Although Italians in a higher income bracket were less affected, they were not far behind.
The Italian consumer
What are Italian shoppers planning to purchase? According to results of a survey conducted between July 2023 and June 2024, the number one item on the list was a smartphone. Within this timeframe, nearly a third of Italians intended to purchase smartphones, while household appliances ranked second with about 20 percent. In terms of curiosity or perhaps passion, over 70 percent of consumers in the country said they were interested in apparel and footwear. About two-thirds of respondents picked food and drinks as a product area of interest.Has inflation impacted Italian shoppers?
As of 2022, prices for all kinds of goods and services have risen sharply across the globe, and just like most, Italy’s consumers have felt the impact. Since 2015, the monthly consumer price index in Italy had risen slowly, having increased by about three percent by late 2020. By mid-2023, however, the average price of consumer goods in Italy was nearly 20 percent higher than in 2015.As of mid-2024, plenty of shoppers were still struggling with this increased cost of living: when asked if they had traded down (i.e., bought cheaper equivalents to products or shopped at lower-priced retailers) in the past three months, some 85 percent of low-income consumers in Italy responded that they had. Although Italians in a higher income bracket were less affected, they were not far behind.
