online shopping trends Italy 2021

Online shopping trends of Italians in 2021

Business News

Everli, the European online shopping service, released its third annual report which highlights the shopping trends of Italians in 2021. Spending decreased, whilst order numbers increased in 2021 compared to 2020.

Everli’s third annual report highlighted the trends between regions regarding Italy’s online spending during 2021. Compared to 2020, the total online spend in 2021 reduced by 4% although the total number of orders rose by 6%. The average cart value dropped by 9.8%.

North-east Italy increases online shopping

It is in the north-east of Italy where online shopping recorded the greatest growth in 2021. The three cities with the largest growth across the country were Venice (+ 17.5%), Udine (+ 17% ) and Trieste (+ 15%).

Italian online shopping trends 2021

Everli’s report for 2021 also showed the ranking of the 10 product categories most purchased by consumers. There was a significant change compared to 2020, with an increase in healthy products; vegetables came out top, with fruit in second place. These replace the snack categories which dominated the first pandemic year of 2020.

 The ‘healthy’ trend is confirmed with higher positions occupied by categories such as short semolina pasta (3rd), clean and washed salads (6th), and citrus fruits (10th). The top 10 no longer sees  cheeses and cured meats, milk and butter, ice cream and canned goods. Nor is there the presence of flour and homemade bread and pizza preparations, which skyrocketed during lockdown.  

Top 10 most purchased online shopping products 2021

  1. Vegetables
  2. Fruit
  3. Short semolina pasta
  4. Still water
  5. Egg
  6. Clean and washed salads
  7. Snacks
  8. Tomatoes
  9. Sliced ​​bread
  10. Citrus fruits

Which regions buy what?

In 2021, Messina was the Italian province which purchased the largest number of products in the fruit and vegetable category (18%). Emilia-Romagna is reconfirmed for the third consecutive time as the ‘healthiest’ region, with 3 provinces in the top 10: Bologna (2nd) , Parma (4th) and Modena (6th).

The sweet tooth of Italy is Sondrio, which purchased the most sweets online, followed by Naples and Taranto.

Meat and fish lovers can be found in Caserta, where 22% of the total online shopping expenditure was spent in that category.

Which day is shopping day?

Which day proved to be the most popular for online shopping in Italy? In 2020, Monday came out tops whilst 2021 saw a shift towards Friday as the preferred ordering day. Unsurprisingly, Sunday continued to be the least popular day to register an order.

The Italians responsible for the ordering tend to do so in the morning. The most popular hour was between 10 and 11.

As for the method of ordering, the app was twice as popular as the website version (68% vs 31% respectively). That was a growth of 7 points in 2021 for the app.

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