spending 7% more expensive in a year, consumption plummets – Corriere.it
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Inflation empties the shopping cart and forces Italians to spend more to buy less. Families are forced to cut back on everything, including food. Istat numbers certify that it is precisely the impact of price increases that is causing a deterioration in retail sales. In March there was no change in terms of value while those in volume decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous month. And it is striking that for food goods the drop in volume is stronger than for non-food products with -0.7% against -0.1%. If we compare the data for March 2022, we note that food spending has become more expensive by +7.7%, but the volume of goods purchased has collapsed by almost 5% (-4.9%).
Consumer associations
According to Codacons, net of inflation and considering household consumption expenditure, purchases fall in volume by a total of 21.8 billion euros per year, with lower spending equal to an average of -848 euros per family. The association asks the government to intervene urgently to control price lists and save household budgets. Assoutenti calls for an anti-inflation decree that includes the strengthening of the Price Guarantor and a zeroing of the VAT on basic necessities. According to the association’s calculations, Italian food spending drops by 7.1 billion euros on an annual basis, with an average reduction of 377 euros if we consider a household with two children.
Trade organisations
Trade organizations are also asking for government intervention. For Federdistribuzione it is necessary to protect the purchasing power of families to encourage the recovery of internal demand and guarantee stability for our companies and the numerous Made in Italy agri-food supply chains. Confcommercio underlines how the trend variation in volume of total retail sales is equal to -3% in the first quarter of the current year. Which does not leave us completely calm about the short-term prospects of the Italian economy. For Confesercenti, the worst figure is recorded for small shops, with an estimate that goes beyond -5% in three months, again in terms of volume.
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