Italian Consumer Spending 2004

Following hot on the heels of the annual report by Istat on the state of Italy excerpts of the meaty 560 page tome are making their way in snippets to the published press.

Most recently are figures on consumer spending with indicators that Italians are spending only on the essential items. In fact it's largely the supermarkets/food (alimentari) sector that is showing the largest increase in consumer spending. Evidence that for many the kitchen table remains the most important element of the household.

There were small increases in the household items, DIY, IT, clothes and a cooling off in spending on books, games, perfumes and shoes.

The overall trend indicates a +1.4% increase across all sectors, although once food spending figures are removed from the total growth figures, the total increases are low at best.

Istat Report 2004 [7meg] - This report, in Italian features a complete overview Italy: it's place in the European economy, it's labour market, it's prospect for investment and outlook in the years ahead.

published 24th May 2004
picture source: Corriera di Firenze 22 May 2004,