Italy

Flexible packaging dominates confectionery in Italy, offering numerous advantages, such as easier handling and consumption for consumers, and savings on transportation and storage for manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. The most popular…

Consumer health is set to record moderate single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. With the pandemic officially over, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Italians are keen to get back to their pre-COVID-19 lifestyles and this…

Tourism flows in Italy have performed very well in 2023 with figures expected to come close to pre-pandemic levels in terms of number of trips. The Easter weekend contributed to the recovery of tourism in Italy, with domestic and foreign tourists…

Travel intermediaries and direct suppliers are both seeing strong growth in current value terms in 2023, with strong sales seen through online and offline and in business and leisure. As a result, booking sales are set to see a full return to…

Sales of smartphones have been trending down in volume terms in recent years, as consumers perceive that the latest versions do not incorporate sufficient new and compelling technology to justify the expense of a new product. Lack of inventory due to…

The COVID-19 crisis and the significantly increased amount of time that Italians were forced to spend at home considerably bolstered consumers’ digital engagement. People turned to digital devices for work, study, shopping, entertainment and…

Cigarettes consumption continued to decline in 2022, although at a slower rate than seen in pre-pandemic years. Indeed, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (stress, anxiety) were still being felt, further compounded by global inflationary pressures…

Cigarettes saw a slightly stronger volume decline in 2022 than witnessed in 2021, as the era of the COVID-19 pandemic has come to an end and consumers have returned to their out-of-home lifestyles. This decline is to be expected, as the circumstances…

Skin care delivered mid-single-digit growth in 2022, showing a slower rate of growth than that seen in the previous year – which, however, represented a recovery from the decline seen in 2020 and allowed value sales to return to pre-pandemic levels.…

All areas of sportswear posted double-digit retail volume and current value sales growth in 2021, following double-digit declines in 2020 due to the exigencies of the COVID-19 pandemic. The category rebounded after contracting for the first time…

Menswear showed strong double-digit growth in value terms in 2022 and convincing positive growth in terms of value sales. The category had suffered deep declines during the pandemic as demand slumped throughout lockdowns and home seclusion, with…

Footwear’s double-digit growth in retail volume and current value terms in 2021 signalled a recovery from the sharp declines recorded in 2020 due to the pandemic. The slump in demand for footwear was mainly informed by lockdown and home seclusion…

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the importance of the quality and duration of sleep for people’s health and wellbeing, which has been reflected in popular books and the mainstream media. Research has included studies that have…

Gum is set to continue to see retail volume growth over 2023, albeit solely due to chewing gum and at a slower rate than in 2022. As a result, retail volume sales are set to remain below the 2019 re-pandemic level at the end of the review period.…

Over 2022, a number of categories of chocolate confectionery declined in retail volume sales terms. However, some registered growth: chocolate pouches and bags, seasonal chocolate and chocolate with toys. The return to pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19)…

Sales of alcoholic drinks plummeted through the on-trade in 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19. However, after further disruption in the early part of the year, the reopening of foodservice outlets at the end of April set the path to an…

Supermarkets remains a larger modern grocery format in Italy, and like hypermarkets, some consumers moved towards smaller formats of retailers during the pandemic as they prioritised price and convenience. Many local consumers found smaller outlets…

Demand for home care products continued to fall in 2022, following a return to pre-pandemic cleaning and sanitisation regimes, which were less rigorous than during the height of the COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020 and the first half of 2021. Overall,…

Consumers continued to make less use of their dishwashers in 2022, given that they spent an increasing amount of time outside the home. During the COVID-19 pandemic, extended periods of home seclusion, enforced by lockdown restrictions, meant that…

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Italy in 2020, it brought about radical shifts in consumer behaviour and forced manufacturers to respond to these changes. In 2021, particularly in the second half of the year, as the success of Italy’s…