More than any other indicator, perhaps, the trend in consumption is able to account for the state of health and the social and cultural changes of a country. The latest overview provided by the Confcommercio survey spans four decades and shows an Italy, if we will, more hedonistic, which despite still low costs, appreciates the latest technological innovations and conviviality away from home more than in the past.
And in this context, the boost given by the recovery of tourism gives hope for a return to normality. In the Italian post-Covid period, purchases of recreational and cultural services are growing in the context of a decline in the private sector which, if in the 1980s it indicated the end of political and social commitment, with the pandemic has made a further leap in quality: even moments of leisure are increasingly enjoyed within the home.
Technology and little else
In comparison with the past, Italians spend much more on computers, audiovisual and multimedia products. But the symbolic element of the passage between two eras, above all, is the telephone. From 1995 to 2023, purchases increased by 5,339%. Translated: net of the change in prices, for every euro spent on telephone equipment then, today more than 54 are spent.
Yet, the report reads, beyond technology there is little else left in terms of spectacular growth. And it could not be otherwise, given the overall stagnation of consumption in the long term. Witness of this contraction, among other things, the dynamics of clothing and footwear, once a central category among the items of expenditure of Italian families and today stuck at the levels of ’95.
Energy and food
But the chapters dedicated to energy and food expenditure also appear quite eloquent. In the first case, the increase in unit prices has led to an increase in the share of spending and, consequently, to a compression of free consumption and the resulting economic well-being for families.
In the food segment instead, where spending is essentially stationary, eating outside the home is driven by a widespread inclination to develop individual well-being, while eating at home is also and above all held back by the demographic context, with an increasingly elderly population , as is physiological, requires less basic food contributions and more service contents. In summary, electricity, gas and food consumed at home – in addition to furniture and household appliances – show lower real costs than in 1995. For energy, the drop can also be attributed to efficiency improvements and austerity policies.
The year of normalityOverall, notwithstanding the rebound in 2023, consumption has not yet returned to the pre-Covid levels of 2019. And, it is estimated, the peak reached in 2007 will remain a distant memory for the whole of 2024.
Encouraging signs, however, come from services and tourism (+23.6% compared to 2022), whose growth could bring consumption back to a normal level this year. Consumption which, moreover, is worth 60% of GDP, comments the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli. The economy, however, is slowing down and some issues are still unresolved. In fact, a plan to relaunch the South, the full implementation of reforms and investments of the Pnrr and a profound tax reform in rapid times are missing.
2023-08-22 16:30:00
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