In 2024, Italians spent €111.6 billion on non-food products and goods. This is the key finding from the latest edition of the Non Food Observatory by GS1 Italy, which monitors 13 sectors and analyzes business performance, consumer behavior, sales channels, technological innovations, and market trends.
Compared to 2023, non-food spending grew by 0.6%, slightly higher than the +0.1% recorded the previous year. Over the medium term, growth was much stronger: +18.6% compared to 2020, the year of the pandemic. At the same time, the physical retail network continued to shrink. In 2024, store closures amounted to 0.4%, while between 2020 and 2024 the balance of openings and closures led to a total decline of 12.3%.
Consumption trends 2024
According to Samanta Correale, senior business intelligence manager at GS1 Italy, ten macro-trends defined 2024, ranging from the pursuit of comfort and leisure to the centrality of affordability and the growing interest in alternative channels. Expanding segments include cosmetics, self-medication, sporting goods, and wellness services. Ease of use, assortment selection, and retailer reliability emerged as key factors guiding purchase decisions.
Consumer electronics back on top
The 2024 non-food basket reshaped the weight of monitored categories. Consumer electronics, despite a slight drop of 0.5%, regained the lead with €21.8 billion in sales. Clothing and footwear followed closely with €21.6 billion, while furniture and home décor reached €15.7 billion (-0.3%) and DIY €13.3 billion (-1.4%). Together, these four categories accounted for 65% of total non-food spending.
The perfumery sector recorded the strongest growth (+8%), reaching €8.1 billion. Positive results were also seen in self-medication (+3.2%, nearly €9 billion), edutainment (+3.2%), home textiles (+2%), and sporting goods (+0.8%). Declines affected optics (-0.7%), stationery (-2.9%), and toys (-3.4%), while household goods remained almost stable (+0.2%).
Where Italians shop
Affordability, convenience, and service remain the main drivers in choosing shopping channels. Large specialized stores (28,670 outlets) are still the leading non-food channel, although slightly down (-0.4%). Large food stores (24,898 outlets, -0.9%) were penalized by the closure of small supermarkets, while discount stores (+1.4%) and hypermarkets remained stable.
Within non-specialized large formats, department stores (+2.5%) and cash & carry (+2.4%) grew but remained marginal. Perfumery was an exception, with 31% of the market concentrated in non-specialized large outlets. Specialized shops maintained a strong presence in household goods, self-medication, stationery, optics, DIY, furniture, and home décor.
Street vendors remained leaders in toys (38.7%), furniture retailers in large household appliances (37%), and pharmacies and parapharmacies accounted for 18.1% of cosmetic and perfume sales.
E-commerce and retail clusters
E-commerce stabilized, confirming its decisive role in edutainment (57.6% of sales value) and consumer electronics (29.3%), with peaks in video games (88.9%) and multimedia storage (44.8%). Online purchases grew in telephony, photography, hardware, small appliances, perfumery, and over-the-counter medicines.
The modern non-food retail network comprises over 30,000 stores and 316 retailers. Central urban retail remained the most significant cluster (43%) but continued to lose outlets (-1.7%). Growth was recorded in shopping centers (+0.7%), peripheral urban areas (+1.4%), and factory outlets (+1.2%). Retail parks (-1.7%) and smaller hubs such as stations and airports (-1.6%) declined.