A turnaround, a change driven by new needs. Retail sales in Italy in recent months no longer grow only for food, on the contrary. Growing is clothing, footwear, household appliances. Purchases in the kitchen drop, e-commerce collapses. This is the new framework designed by the latest Istat data.
In October, Istat estimates a moderate economic growth for retail sales (+ 0.1% in value and + 0.2% in volume), due to the trend in sales of non-food goods (+ 0.3% in value and + 0.4% in volume) while those of foodstuffs are down (-0.1% in value and -0.2% in volume). On an annual basis, retail sales increased by 3.7% in value and 2.8% in volume, with growth in non-food goods (+ 6.4% in value and + 5.7% in volume) while food goods slightly increased in value (+ 0.2%) and decreased in volume (-0.9%). Among non-food goods, the statistical institute records a trend growth for almost all product groups, with the exception of Equipment for information technology, communication, telephony (-3.6%), durable and non-durable household goods ( -1.1%) and Stationery, books, newspapers and magazines (-1.0%).
The biggest increases relate to Footwear, leather and travel items (+ 14.8%), Clothing and fur (+ 14.2%) and Household appliances, radios, TVs and tape recorders (+ 12.7%). Compared to October 2020, the value of retail sales grows for large-scale distribution (+ 2.7%), for companies operating on small surfaces (+ 5.8%) and for sales outside the shops (+2 , 2%) while there is a decrease for electronic commerce (-3.7%). In the quarter August-October 2021, compared to the previous three months, retail sales increased by 1.4% in value and 1.0% in volume. Sales of non-food goods (+ 1.9% in value and + 1.7% in volume) and those of food goods (+ 1.0% in value and + 0.3% in volume) are growing. For the food sector, Istat highlights the positive annual figure for businesses operating on small surfaces and a slight decline for large-scale distribution, in which supermarket sales are decreasing (-2.2%).