Italy

Throughout 2022 and 2023, sales of air care products were negatively impacted by tough economic conditions, which saw cash-strapped consumers seek to rationalise their expenditure by switching away from non-essential products. This was accompanied by…

Demand for air treatment products remained high in 2023, continuing the pattern seen in the previous two years. In summer 2023, demand peaked due to heatwaves and above average temperatures. Meanwhile in the spring and fall some regions in the…

Airlines is seeing strong growth in 2023 both in terms of the number of passengers but also in terms of value sales. New routes, more connections and a stronger presence in Italy is all fuelling the dynamic growth being recorded by airlines, with…

Alcoholic drinks saw total volume sales decline in Italy in 2023. Price spikes and pressure on consumer purchasing power had a strongly negative impact on demand for alcoholic drinks during the year. Consumers became more conservative with their…

In the retail channel’s packaging unit volumes of alcoholic drinks in Italy, metal beverage cans were becoming more popular during the review period, albeit with the exception of 2022, with this pack type expected to also continue gaining share over…

Analgesics is expected to see a single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. Sales are benefiting from the stable demand for analgesics and unit price increases linked to rising price lists as a result of the higher cost of production faced by…

Apparel accessories is projected to see slight retail volume and strong retail current value growth over 2023, with the recovery of all categories, except for “other” apparel accessories. This category continued to suffer steep declines due to the…

Apparel and footwear is projected to record strong retail current value growth over 2023, albeit slower than in 2021 and 2022, when sales rebounded from a lower base following the slump caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Nonetheless, most…

Apparel and footwear specialists continued to record single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023 as the category continued on the path to recovery. Despite this sales remained lower than pre-pandemic levels as elevated inflation and a sharp…

It was another tough year for appliances and electronics specialists in Italy in 2023 with the category seeing a decline in current value terms for the second consecutive year. Sales slumped in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 before recording a…

Trends in hospitals and the healthcare system in Italy have been influencing the performance of away-from-home (AFH) tissue and hygiene through 2023. In 2022, Italy faced an increase in hospitalisations for health issues other than those connected to…

Baby and child-specific products continued to see current value growth in 2023, following on from the recovery seen in the post-pandemic period, with growth supported by the strong price increases seen across the various categories. With high…

Baby food is significantly affected by a high inflation rate in 2022 and 2023. The upturn in the inflation rate, which gained momentum in March 2022 and in subsequent months, is, however, on the downturn in 2023. The rush of Italian consumers to…

The demand for dried baby food in Italy has been gradually declining due to the growing trend among Italian parents to feed their babies and infants with fresh and natural foods. This trend is being driven by concerns about additives, preservatives…

Bags and luggage continued to perform well in Italy in 2023 thanks to rising internal demand, as well as good trends for production and sales. The category continued its post-pandemic recovery during the year, but at two speeds. In fact, on one side,…

Fresh unpackaged bread still accounts for a dominant proportion of volume sales in the leavened bread category. The main drivers of choice in this area are taste and freshness, which are important in bakery products because fresh products are…

Bath and shower saw strong growth in current value terms in 2023 but this was mainly due to significant price increases from most players. Soaring inflation led to a substantial increase in production costs which was subsequently reflected in the…

Beauty and personal care in Italy saw high single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, with sales favoured by being a year without major disruptions, with 2022 being affected by various negative events. These included the prohibition of…

In the post-pandemic period, people are spending a lot more time outside their homes, helping to boost the use of colour cosmetics in 2022. Make-up as a concept was also starting to be seen as a form of self-expression and self-care, promoting mental…

Beer saw total volume sales fall in Italy in 2023. The growth dynamics of the pandemic changed for beer over the 2022-2023 period. Following consecutive years of off-trade growth (2020 and 2021), demand for beer in the off-trade declined in 2022.…

Volume sales of bleach continued to decline in 2023, although demand remained above pre-pandemic levels. Increasingly viewed as an old-fashioned product, bleach enjoyed a major resurgence in 2020, due to its well-recognised sanitising properties,…

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…

Even bottled water sales are falling into a slump in off-trade volume terms in 2023, although this is expected to be remedied over the coming years as the category inches its way back into small, expected, positive growth. The same cross-category…

Italian consumers are increasingly including breakfast cereals in their diets. The growing interest in breakfast cereals is being underpinned by a number of factors, with the demand for convenient meal options in the context of hectic consumer…

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, consumers found or rediscovered a passion for cooking/baking and the demand for quality, but also traditional, butter increased. Thus, COVID-19 in Italy saw demand increase strongly as consumers stocked up…

Cafés/bars continued on the path to recovery in 2023, with growth being seen in terms of both the number of transactions and the value. Despite this positive performance the number of outlets continued to decline, continuing the pattern seen…

The penetration of medical cannabis continues to increase in the Italian market, with the number of legal patients growing due to the increased availability of supplies in the country. Indeed, thanks to the introduction of new products and several…

Off-trade volume sales of carbonates have fallen into a slump in 2023, due to three main factors. Inflationary pressures, with the associated price hikes and consumer price sensitivity, is one major factor. Within this context many consumers are…

Sales of cat food recorded moderate volume growth across all categories in 2023. This was accompanied by strong growth in current value terms which was largely the result of elevated inflation and price increases introduced by retailers and companies…

Charge cards continued to register a healthy performance in 2023, with a rise in the number and value of transactions. This was linked to the growing popularity of cashless transactions, as consumers become increasing confident about making digital…

The price of cheese in Italy has risen considerably towards the end of the review period. Higher pricing has been affected by several factors. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, its aftermath, and the outbreak of war in Ukraine have had…

Childrenswear suffered a disruption, but less so compared with menswear and womenswear, in 2020, in the wake of the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). This was partly because parents tend to prioritise goods for their children, but also because…

Chocolate confectionery in Italy in 2024 is following the general trend of value being supported over volume due to lingering inflationary pressures. However, any volume challenges in subcategories are being balanced by the popularity of seasonal…

Cider/perry saw significant volume growth in Italy in 2023. Indeed, cider/perry was the only alcoholic drinks category to see a positive performance in volume terms in the Italian market in the final year of the review period. The small size of the…

Cigarettes in Italy continued to decline in volume terms in 2023, as the number of cigarette smokers diminish. At the same time, the rising tax on cigarettes is pushing up prices, supporting value sales but also acting as a deterrent to cigarette…

Sales in cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Italy were supported by the positive performance of smoking tobacco in 2023. Indeed, smoking tobacco managed to achieve positive volume sales, as well as value sales, due to such products offering a…

Coffee sales continue to be suppressed in retail volume terms in 2023, due to ongoing inflationary pressures pushing up unit prices. As such, this supports value sales over volume sales. That said, volume has improved from the sharper dips seen in…

Colour cosmetics continued to show double-digit growth in current value terms in 2023 in line with the previous year. While face masks were still worn in many situations in 2022, they were discarded by most people in 2023 as all remaining…

With the COVID-19 crisis, many consumers purchased new computers and peripherals to set up home office spaces or for distance learning, which led to unprecedented peaks in demand. This has been reducing demand for new products over time, given that…

Liquid concentrates manages to perform slightly better than powder concentrates, albeit off-trade volume sales remain in a slight decline, with on-trade performing better thanks to the revival of foodservice. Overall, liquid concentrates have a…

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…

In 2022, the newly elected right-wing government in Italy announced restrictions to the stimulus that had been triggering sales of furniture and major appliances in previous years. Consequently, while applications filed prior November 2022 were still…

Consumer credit registered positive, albeit modest growth in terms of gross lending and outstanding balance values in Italy in 2023, as ongoing economic uncertainty led many consumers to retain a conservative approach towards borrowing. While the…

Consumer electronics is trending downwards in Italy for several reasons. The high rate of inflation prevailing towards the end of the review period and the marked rise in the prices of food and energy have forced consumers to rethink their spending,…

Consumer foodservice saw healthy growth in 2023 in terms of value sales and number of transactions, and the performance was much better than expectations. High inflation and a sharp rise in the cost of living had been expected to limit demand, but…

Consumer foodservice in Italy continued on the path to recovery in 2023 with transaction value exceeding pre-pandemic levels (in current value terms) while the volume of transactions also continued to grow. Nonetheless, with Italy’s economy…

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…

Consumer lending in Italy maintained positive, albeit modest growth in current value terms in 2023, as ongoing economic uncertainty led many Italians to retain a cautious attitude towards borrowing. Factors such as high inflation rates, increasing…

Contact lenses is set to see mid-single digit growth in current value terms in Italy in 2024, continuing the trend from the previous year, with the category being the most dynamic within eyewear. Growth in the category will be supported by Italians…

The geopolitical developments of 2022 and 2023 have had a big impact on retail in Italy. Russia's war in Ukraine continued in 2023 with no sign of resolution at the time of writing, while the emergence of further instability in other parts of the…