in 2022 Italian spending on durable goods will drop by 2% – Corriere.it

Refrigerators and hair dryers, furniture and hobs, but also fryers, decoders and amplifiers. 2022 sees Italian spending on durable goods contract by 2%, but spending on the home keeps the average high and balances the collapse of engines, as indeed the registration data has been certifying for some time. According to data from the Findomestic 2022 Observatory – created by the consumer credit company of the BNP Paribas Group in collaboration with Prometeia – household spending on durable goods at the end of the year will reach 69.1 billion euros, with a decrease of 2% compared to 2021, attributable to a reduction in volumes (-7.6%) only partially offset by the growth in prices (+6.1%). A dynamic also favored by the savings accumulated by families during 2020, which signals the orientation of families to resume spending habits and behaviors that were deeply penalized during the pandemic. “Italians have reacted to the inflation emergency and the climate of uncertainty by investing in the domestic dimension, as already happened in 2020 and 2021 in the wake of the pandemic crisis – comments Gilles Zeitoun, CEO and general manager of Findomestic Banca -. According to our estimates, goods related to the home will reach a value of 34 billion, one step away from the 35 billion of the world of engines».

Mobile phones, furniture and household appliances

Going into detail, the best performances were recorded in the telephony sector, with a surge in turnover of 7.1% thanks to the record increase in prices of 11%, and in the mobile sector, with an increase of 4 .8% favored by 7% inflation; household appliances are also growing: +4.4% for large ones and +2.2% for small ones, also in this case thanks to the growing dynamics of prices which offset the decline in volumes. The only positive item in the field of mobility concerns motor vehicles, up by 2.7%. On the other hand, the other expenditure items decreased: -3.4% used cars, -7.2% information technology, -10.6% new cars (private demand) and -12.2% for TV/Hi-Fi. Turning to four-wheelers, the 6.2% decline in engines is the result of -11.5% in sales volumes combined with +6% in prices. The range between used and new is widening to 4 billion euros: at the end of 2022, according to the projections of the Findomestic Observatory, second-hand cars will lose 3.4% settling at 18.58 billion euros, while cars new ones purchased by private individuals will show a -10.6% (14.45 billion). Going against the trend are two-wheelers, which record an annual turnover of 2.12 billion (+2.7%).

Inflation

In the first part of 2022, despite the constant decline in household sentiment indicators and the exacerbation of inflationary tensions, domestic consumption maintained good growth, showing an economic recovery in the second quarter of the year which provided a significant contribution to the good performance of the GDP. A dynamic also favored by the savings accumulated by households during 2020, which signals the orientation of households to resume spending habits and behaviors that were deeply penalized during the pandemic which prevailed over the effect of price increases. The growth was in fact supported by the rebound of services and semi-durables (clothing and footwear), thanks to the recovery of mobility and sociality as well as the restart of tourism, and by the good stability of durable goods for the home.

The regions

On the other hand, the consumption of non-durable goods, especially food, is down, penalized by high inflation and the recovery of consumption away from home. showing better resistance to the generalized negative trend are Tuscany, with a drop of 0.7% compared to 2021 for a total of 5.1 billion in spending, and Lombardy, which contains the drop to 0.9% and remains the queen of consumption with a total of 13.7 billion. On the other hand, the taillights are Basilicata (-5% for 500 million), the Marches (-3.9% for 1.7 billion) and Calabria (-3.7% for 1.6 billion) together with Veneto , which despite the -3.6% is confirmed as the third “strength” in Italy with a turnover of 6.3 billion. The picture changes partially if we consider the average expenditure per family or the total of 69.1 billion divided by Italian households: in 2022 the average expenditure per family of 2,678 for vehicles, homes, furniture and consumer technology will decrease by 41 euros ( -1.5%) compared to 2021. The only growing region is Molise (+0.6%) which already had low spending, followed in the national ranking by Campania (-0.2%) and Sicily (- 0.4%). Conversely, the largest drops are concentrated in Veneto (-3.7%), Basilicata (-3.6%) and Marche (-3.2%).

In Trentino you spend more

Looking at the data in absolute terms, the highest average expenditure is in Trentino Alto Adige with 3,308 euros; in second and third place are the families of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna with 3,076 and 3,074 euros respectively. The tail of the ranking is entirely projected towards the south of the country: the worst figure is that of Campania with 2,016 euros, preceded by Calabria with 2,038 euros and Basilicata with 2,055 euros. In the new car market, based on calculations by the Findomestic Observatory, the average value of spending per family is 560 euros: the top regions are Tuscany with 787 euros, Valle d’Aosta with 752 euros and Lombardy with 712 euros, those flops are Puglia with 324 euros, Basilicata with 325 euros and Campania with 327 euros. The turnover of motor vehicles, on the other hand, is worth 82 euros per family: the peak of purchases is recorded in areas characterized by a basically mild climate, above all Liguria with 172 euros, Tuscany with 102 euros and Campania with 96 euros; rear lights are, however, Sardinia with 46 euros, Basilicata with 48 euros and Calabria with 50 euros.

Over 600 euros of average expenditure

The Findomestic Observatory estimates the average expenditure of Italian households for furniture at 651.6 euros in 2022. The people from Trentino (875 euros), Umbrians (770 euros) and Piedmontese (759 EUR); the black jersey goes to the families from Puglia (439 euros), preceded by those from Aosta (458 euros) and from Campania (494 euros). In percentage terms, the growth of furniture is more marked in Abruzzo (6.5%), Molise (6.2%) and Liguria (5.9%), while it is more contained in Puglia (+3.9%). Sardinia (+4%) and Valle d’Aosta (+4.3%). Purchases of telephony products by Italians per household rise to 247.5: according to the projections at the end of 2022 of the Findomestic Observatory, the top 3 regions are Valle d’Aosta with 296 euros, Piedmont with 288 euros and Liguria with 283 EUR; those that close the ranking are Campania with 205 euros, Sardinia with 208 euros and Lazio with 209 euros. The segment experiences a particularly significant increase in Umbria (+18.7%), Tuscany (+14.4%) and Lazio (+14.1%), while the expansion is more limited in Basilicata (+4%). Puglia (4.1%) and Sicily (+4.7%). The average budget dedicated to household appliances reaches 227.9 euros: Trentino Alto Adige with 345 euros, Valle d’Aosta with 287 euros and Veneto with 276 are at the top of the Italian ranking, while Sardinia with 179 euros, Sicily with 186 euros and Liguria with 193 euros occupy the last positions. The most marked percentage increases are found in Umbria (+7%), in Lazio and in the Marches (both +5.6%); the positive change stops at +2.1% in Veneto, +2.4% in Friuli Venezia Giulia and +3.2% in Puglia.

Hi-tech

The IT sector attracts an average expenditure per household of 94.6 euros: the regions with the best values ​​are Valle d’Aosta and Trentino Alto Adige with 119 euros followed by Emilia Romagna with 116 euros, while the worst figures they come from Campania (68 euros), Sardinia (69 euros) and Sicily (76 euros). In all territories, the performances compared to 2021 are negative, with more contained losses in Basilicata (-2.7%), Abruzzo (-3.4%), Sardinia (-3.6%) and more net in Veneto (- 9.9%), Trentino Alto Adige (-9.7%), Friuli Venezia Giulia (-9.5%). The consumer electronics sector in 2022 is worth 94.4 euros per household, with a wide gap between the top and the bottom of the ranking: on the one hand the 139 euros of Trentino Alto Adige, the 125 euros of Molise and the 121 euros of Tuscany; on the other, the 75 euros from Sardinia, the 76 euros from Lazio and the 78 euros from Piedmont. The gap also emerges from the percentage variations, with Molise (-4.1%), Calabria (-4.5%) and Abruzzo (-5.6%) cushioning the fall, while Veneto collapses (-16.4%) , Piedmont (-16.1%) and Valle d’Aosta (-15.5%).

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