This year, the thirteenths of Italians may not turn into a revival of consumption: the average expenditure on purchases around Christmas, in fact, will be at its lowest for 15 years. The alarm comes from Confcommercio, which estimates an average of 1,532 euros per family in terms of potential consumption deriving only from the thirteenth month. Naturally, the impact of bills weighs above all on the tightening of the cordons, as in 2021. Everything will depend on the trust of families, say the association’s study center: if the November one were to be confirmed, despite the numbers and reduced availability, the expectations for consumption under the tree would be favourable.
Overall, in 2022 Italians will spend 6.7 billion euros on Christmas gifts. An average of 157 euros per capita, 540 per family. Spending has therefore decreased slightly compared to the previous year, just as the propensity to give Christmas gifts has decreased in value since 2015. Expensive energy and inflation – which remains high, albeit slowing down – make the Christmas period uncertain. To relaunch growth, says the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, “especially domestic demand must be strengthened, accelerating the fiscal pact announced by the government”. Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of household income, but the support activated by the government has mitigated the impact by 88% on households with reduced spending levels. The economy has held up, thanks also to the tourism boom, and the small increase in consumption of 4.5% for 2022 comes from the transformation of the excess savings accumulated during the pandemic into higher consumption. Any deterioration in trust, however, would halt this process.