Italian e-commerce had a turnover of 76 billion euros in 2022, according to data published by Ecommerce in Italy 2023 report from Casaleggio Associati, a digital strategy consulting business in Italy.
The same report hinted that, during 2021, the e-commerce market in Italy reached a turnover of 64 billion euros. This represented a growth of 33% compared to a year earlier. Now, for 2023, a growth of 18.6% is what Casaleggio is forecasting, which, if true, will indicate that the development of online sales is slowing down in the country.
Leisure was the most significant online sector, generating 50% of the total online turnover (38 billion euros) in Italy.
According to the research, this is partly due to the growth of online gaming, as well as purchases related to hobbies and sports. Online shopping centers followed in second place and generated 19% of the total revenue (14.2 billion euros).
Meanwhile, the tourism sector showed the strongest growth last year 47%, which was mostly due to price increases and also, due to a rebound effect of tourism returning after the complex Covid and post-Covid periods. In total, it generated 13.3% of the e-commerce turnover.
According to the research, overall sales decreased in most sectors, but there was still an increase in turnover through higher prices. “This was particularly true for physical product sectors, such as Food, Home and Furniture, Consumer Electronics, and Online Shopping Centers.”
Overall, e-commerce websites in Italy are expected to grow 17.3% in terms of turnover this year. Especially the sectors Leisure Time, Food and Fashion and Health and Beauty are expected to grow in online turnover the most, respectively 23% 20% and 19%.
