Italy Retail Sales Near 1-Year High

Italy's retail sales increased 0.8% month-on-month in March 2026, rebounding after a 0.1% decline in February and firmly above market expectations of a 0.4% contraction. Marking the fastest growth in nearly a year, sale increases were broad-based. Food sales growth rebounded to 0.9% following a 0.4% decline in the previous month, while non-food sales growth accelerated to 0.7% from 0.3%, particularly for IT, telecommunications, and telephone equipment (8.6%). In contrast, sales declined for footwear, leather goods, and travel goods (-1.3%). On an annual basis, retail sales increased by 3.7%, supported by e-commerce (11.2%) and increases in both food sales (4.3% versus 1.8%) and non-food sales (3.3% versus 1.4%).

Italy’s retail sales increased by 0.6% month-on-month in January 2026, more than market expectations of a 0.2% rise and rebounding from a revised 0.7% fall in the previous month. Sales rebounded for both food (1.1% vs -0.8% in December) and non-food products (0.2% vs -0.7%). On an annual basis, retail sales grew by 2.3%, the biggest gain in nine months, following a revised 1.1% increase in December, driven by higher sales of food (3.9% vs 2.0%) and non-food products (1.2% vs 0.4%). Among non-food items, sales went up for almost all product groups, notably in IT, telecommunications, and telephone equipment (3.9%), while the largest drop was seen in footwear, leather goods, and travel goods (-2.2%). The value of retail sales rose sharply for large-scale distribution (4.1%) and e-commerce (4.6%), while it grew modestly for small retail outlets (0.2%) and dropped for out-of-store trade (-1.7%).

Italy’s retail sales decreased by 0.8% month-on-month in December 2025, reversing a 0.5% rise in each of the previous two months, compared to market expectations of a 0.4% increase. Sales for both food (-0.9% vs 0.4% in November) and non-food products (-0.7% vs 0.6%) declined. On an annual basis, retail sales rose by 0.9%, easing from a 1.3% growth in each of the previous two months, largely due to a slowdown in non-food sales (0.3% vs 1.4%), while food sales picked up (1.7% vs 1.3%). Among non-food items, the largest gains were observed in pharmaceuticals (4.6%) and perfumery and personal care (3.8%), while the sharpest declines were recorded in household tools and hardware (-3.4%) and footwear, leather goods and travel goods (-3.3%). The value of retail sales increased across all distribution channels: large-scale distribution (0.6%), small retail outlets (0.8%), out-of-store sales (0.8%), and e-commerce (3.1%). Overall, retail sales in 2025 were 0.8% higher than in 2024.