The high prices hit household budgets. This is how the use of food discount stores is growing: a change in habits and consumption to make ends meet. The latest data processed by Nielsen like4like for Fida Confcommercio and Federdistribuzione show a jump of more than 10% in turnover in September. For Donatella Prampolini di Fida “discount stores have cannibalized the channels of super and hypermarkets”, while for Federdistribuzione the figure confirms a growth trend that has been evident for some time.
Istat: discount turnover increased by 12.3% in July
Different readings, but one thing is certain: the discounter is the only channel in the food trade sector to have increased the number of pieces sold. In the period January-August 2022 the “low cost markets” recorded an increase in sales volumes of almost 3 points compared to the same phase of the previous year. Istat, in its latest survey, also photographed an important dynamic: in July the turnover of discount stores grew by 12.3%, detaching both the hypermarket and the supermarket channels by at least 5 points.
Fear for the future and savings on spending
The discount, therefore, is increasingly a must for Italians who are losing purchasing power. Prampolini has no doubts: «It is a fact that follows people’s stomachs: people are frightened, fearful of the future and try to save on spending. It also happened with the crisis of 2009. As bills grow, so too will the turnover of discount stores ».
Surge connected with increased bills
The sector has been in good health for some time, but for Prampolini the latest surge has a direct connection with the expensive bills. “The supermarket is struggling to keep inflation, it loses in terms of pieces sold, while the discounter grows”. Carlo Alberto Buttarelli, from the Federdistribuzione Research Office, is more cautious. «The discount is accelerating, of course. It is acquiring a new clientele, made up of people looking for savings, but there is no turning point ». In short, consumption changes, but there would be no low-cost fever. Buttarelli insists on the “discount supermarket”: citizens would also choose it for its increasing attention to quality.
Cyclical trends
The president of Fida-Confcommercio also speaks of “cyclical trends”. “At the moment, families are moving to the discount store because it is the only lever they can use to cope with the high prices. When there will be answers on energy issues, people will return to choose the high quality of super and hypermarkets ». Waiting for the future consumer behavior of Italians, Istat also comments on the data in a decisive way: “At the moment the discount is a sector that is growing stronger than the others”