Caught between COVID-19 and inflation, Italian consumers will struggle to maintain last year’s spending levels in 2022, two surveys conducted by Coop Italia on consumption forecasts for the year have revealed.
Despite continued uncertainty, 49% of households do not expect to change their spending levels compared to the pre-pandemic period, while 22% hope to exceed it.
Those on low incomes and living in the south are more likely to seek out cheaper offers and outlets, the survey showed.
Locally-Sourced Food
Once again, Italian and locally sourced food items were in high demand from consumers, while the trend towards organic and healthy food is also on the increase.
Although 97% of respondents claimed that making daily life more sustainable and respecting the environment is a priority, only 18% were taking concrete steps to avoid food waste.
For 61% of supply chain managers, 2022 will be the year in which private-label brands gain a stronger foothold in the market, due to their quality/price ratio.
Read More: Wheat Shortage To Push Up Italian Pasta Prices: La Molisana CEO
Run-Up To Christmas
In the run-up to Christmas, retail sales in the country increased by about 3% as the resurgence of the pandemic and the fear of the Omicron variant kept many Italians at home.
For 2022, large-scale retail sales should grow by 1.5% in value, but will drop in volume, offset by price increases, the study noted.
After a 4.8% surge in retail sales in 2020 due to the outbreak of the pandemic, grocery sales levelled out in 2021 and declined by 0.5%, excluding e-grocery.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Branislav Pekic. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
