Italian retail sales dropped by 10.1% in volume and by 4.8% in value since 2010, according to Italy’s National Institute for Statistics (Istat).
In its report, Istat pointed out that the slowdown in consumption is mainly due to the economic crisis that has hit households in recent years, as well as a general sense of uncertainty and concern for the future.
The latest data for December 2016 shows a 0.2% decrease compared to December 2015 in value, with food at +0.2% and non-food at -0.4%. For the entire year of 2016, there was a growth of 0.1% in value and 0.3% in volume.
According to the president of industry body Federdistribuzione, Giovanni Cabolli Gigli, sales in 2016 were flat, after a slight recovery in sales in 2015 (+0.7% in value).
He saw this as a negative development, “because there was an increase in household purchasing power that resulted in savings and liquidity rather than purchases”.
Gigli pointed out that the December figures, which were especially negative for non-food products, "show that not even Christmas created the necessary stimulus to transform part of the accumulated savings into consumption".
In its report, Istat concluded that the growth in consumption needs to be stimulated by structural reforms in the county and by introducing more competition in the markets.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
