The annual Coop Italia report on the state of the Italian economic system and consumption habits reveals that Italians proceed to wrestle with inflation.
Though total Italian family spending noticed a slight improve of 0.5% in 2024, in comparison with 5 years beforehand, over half of that is consumed by important bills, equivalent to housing, utilities, transportation and meals.
Buying intentions for the subsequent 12-18 months stay flat, with saving a high precedence for 42% of Italians.
Looking for Worth
Regardless of Italy experiencing decrease meals inflation in comparison with the remainder of Europe (3.1% year-on-year progress and a 29.1% improve since 2019, in comparison with EU averages of three.3% and 38.5%, respectively, within the first seven months of 2025), Italians’ ongoing monetary struggles imply that they continue to be extremely centered on discovering financial savings and worth of their meals purchases.
Extra are embracing progressive consuming habits or a mix of custom and innovation, with a robust resurgence in residence cooking.
Precise spending on eating out decreased by 2.2% within the first half of 2025, whereas a 3rd of Italians plan to cut back spending additional on this space.
Concurrently, grocery purchasing is rebounding, with large-scale retail gross sales rising by 3.8% in worth and a couple of% in quantity throughout the identical interval.
This progress is basically pushed by contemporary produce, equivalent to fruit and veggies, as Italians prioritise wholesome consuming. Seven out of ten Italians frequently test dietary labels, resulting in an increase in purchases of unique fruits, fermented milk, bread, yoghurt and oil, alongside a discount in sugar, salt and carbohydrates.
Extremely-processed meals are shedding favour, whereas natural meals gross sales are accelerating, even in southern Italy, with 8.4 million Italians planning to extend these purchases.
This health-conscious pattern extends to a rising choice for alcohol-free drinks, notably amongst younger individuals, with 15.4 million Italians choosing non-alcoholic decisions.
Excessive-protein diets have been adopted by 17% of the inhabitants, whereas gross sales of plant-based meat substitutes have soared by 20.9% up to now 12 months (ten occasions greater than meat), adopted by eggs (+7.8%) and legumes (+5.0%).
Purchasing Habits
Whereas low cost shops have seen 1.8% quantity progress, supermarkets skilled a stronger 2.7% improve. A major 40% of Italians plan to extend their purchases of discounted or promotional meals gadgets, whereas 18% anticipate to purchase extra private-label merchandise, which is greater than double the share (9%) who intend to purchase extra mainstream manufacturers.
To adapt to those evolving client habits, Italian large-scale retailers face a substantial problem. In keeping with meals and beverage managers surveyed for the Coop Report 2025, future success hinges largely on product and course of innovation (53%), alongside efficient personnel insurance policies (36%), forming strategic partnerships and integrating AI, which has the potential to spice up productiveness by 20% over the subsequent decade.
