A recent report published by Coop Italia revealed that 19% of Italians are hopeful about the year ahead.
Coop Italia is a market leader in Italy, with a 14% market share and 6.8 million customers. The report is based on a survey carried out by the Ancc-Coop Studies office of Coop Italia and it involved 1,000 customers.
The survey revealed that 27% of Italians think the economy will grow over the next 12 months whereas 19% think the country could enter a recession. Another 7% believe that Italy will leave the EU while 14% want to strengthen the relationship with the Union.
One third of respondents think their bills will go up and 24% expect healthcare costs to increase as well.
Around 83% of those taking part in the survey were considering spending on a holiday over the next 12 months and 54% plan to buy new gadgets.
In terms of grocery shopping, 25% of respondents think they will spend more on the purchase of wholemeal foods, including organic products. Consumption of gluten free food is likely to increase among 10% of those taking the survey while 47% say they will reduce it or not consume it at all. Around 11% of respondents said they will spend more on vegan or vegetarian products, while 9% expect to spend less and 36% are not considering it at all.
When it comes to online shopping, around 16% of respondents expect their consumption to increase, with 41% saying the figure is likely to stay the same, 10% expecting it to decrease and 33% saying they will not be shopping online.
The report also notes that the global context could also affect the retail market, such as a potential tariff war between the EU and the UK. Italian GDP is expected to grow by 1% in 2019.
