Online shopping in Italy - statistics & facts
How online consumption works
Seasonality is a key aspect in physical retail and e-commerce. Monthly sales peak during the winter season and especially before Christmas time. Some product categories clearly dominate the e-commerce market. The preference for online channels 1000848 is particularly striking for electronics and household appliances. In turn, the skepticism toward e-commerce sites is still strong for grocery purchases.Online retail demand partially recovered from the inflation wave hitting the Italian economy in 2022. After a downtrend marking three consecutive quarters until the end of 2022, e-commerce sales showed significant growth from the beginning of 2023. As a result, the average online spending per visit increased, leaving behind the previous drops of 2022.
From the shopping list to the shopping cart, and beyond
In the pre-purchase phase, shoppers tend to browse online a lot. More than in other countries, shoppers look for products directly on Amazon, using it as a search engine for merchandise. In addition to that, price comparison sites have expanded from their primary function and turned into a goldmine source of information on products. Once the purchase decision is made, consumers are left with several payment options, including appreciated digital payment services.With internet users spending a lot of time on social networks, these platforms attract users to follow brands and, more recently, to buy from them. The trend of social commerce already observed in other countries now appeals to Italian social media users, and is likely to be modeled on mobile devices, where the most social traffic to e-commerce sites has been reported. Social media serve as platforms for the live showcase of products and services, promoted directly by brands or influencers. The Italian audience seems to have a limited familiarity with live commerce, although over six in ten shoppers appreciate the format of a more interactive shopping experience. In a live commerce context, Italian consumers showed the highest interest in clothing and consumer electronics categories.