(Finance) – In 2023, online purchases of Italians will grow 13% and catch up 54 billion euros. THE products they are expected to increase by 8% compared to 2022 and at the end of the year they will be worth 35.2 billion, while services will reach 18.8 billion (+22%). Among the products, after the generalized slowdown in growth in 2022, are theclothingThe beauty and theinformatics the most dynamic sectors today (with increases of around 10%), while it slows down the progression of food & groceries (+1% compared to twelve months ago).
Between services, the growth of the tourism and transport sector continues (+27% compared to 2022) and ticketing for events. The online penetration of total retail purchases is 12%, stable compared to 2022. These are some of the updated data on the ecommerce market in Italy, according to the latest survey byeCommerce B2c Observatory Netcomm – School of Management of the Milan Polytechnicwhich was presented at the opening plenary of Netcomm Forum, the reference event for the digital world on the evolution of eCommerce, digital retail and business innovation at a national and global level, which this year investigates the frontiers of the shopping experience, as the title suggests “The extended retail: from metaverses to space commerce” of this eighteenth edition.
“Providing a picture of digital commerce in Italy is a complex activity. First of all, we need to take into account the new purchasing habits of consumers, for whom, especially in the case of Generation Z, the line between online and offline no longer makes sense to exist. The other side of the market is made up of companies, which are faced with an unstable economic situation, also due to geopolitical factors, and the urgency of acquiring those digital and technological skills that are fundamental to remain competitive on the market” , he comments Roberto Smooth, Netcomm president.
But what is the profile of online shoppers? This was revealed by a Netcomm NetRetail research that starts from one point: the number of online shoppers. Although their growth is not expected in 2023, having stabilized at around 33 million, the trend of growth in the last 10 years leads to interpreting this figure more as a reabsorption of the boom in pandemic that as a stop in the digitization process of consumers in Italy. Furthermore, in the last three years, the growth of regular online shoppers (people who buy on average at least once a month) has been 5.5 times that of sporadic (people who declare less than three purchases in the quarter): the regulars reached this year 24.4 million, testifying to the fact that ecommerce has now entered the purchasing habits of Italian consumers.
The habitual, performing 90% of the online transactions and with receipts of generally above-average value, they generate most of the total value of online purchases (93%). While in the early stages of the advent of e-commerce the average age of buyers was 36, today it has risen significantly (46 years on average) and the share of buyers in large urban centres has diminished: in a nutshell, the profile of online shoppers is progressively approaching that of the entire population. Again according to the Netcomm NetRetail survey, the shopping experience of Italians is increasingly omnichannel: digital also becomes a resource to guide the purchase decision, even if it ends in a physical point of sale. In fact, in 40% of cases, Italian consumers get information online before buying in-store, mainly by consulting the website of an online retailer or the product/service, using a search engine or a comparator ( of offers or features) and suggestions available via social media (comments and evaluations).
(Photo: Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash)