Italy Apparel Consumer Insights – Who Shops, What do they Shop, How do they Shop and Why do they Shop

Italy Apparel Consumer Insights Report Overview

Many Italian consumers foresee financial hardships to continue, anticipating that the economy and personal finances will worsen over the next six months. Hence, more than 30% of Italian consumers expect to reduce their spending on clothing and accessories in the coming months. They wish to stick to their resolution by conducting price comparisons and shifting to cheaper brands.

The ‘Italy Apparel Consumer Insights Report’ provides detailed insights into consumer sentiment among apparel shoppers in Italy. This report offers a detailed analysis of the market with the impact of recent events on customer shopping behavior, key apparel retailers, and channel usage.

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Italy Apparel Consumer Insights - Drivers

Value for money is the most important factor that Italian apparel shoppers seek when purchasing apparel. Price and quality follow the primary factors closely as consumers seek the best balance between affordability and durability in the inflationary climate. Sustainability and ethics, while important to almost half of shoppers, remain overshadowed by financial considerations when shopping for apparel.

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Italy Apparel Consumer Insights - Consumer Sentiment

Italian consumers remain cautious despite a stabilizing economic landscape as some expect the economy to deteriorate over the next six months. This pessimistic sentiment is especially prevalent within the 16-24 demographic concerned about job stability and opportunities in a tense economic climate. More than half of consumers plan to reduce their retail expenditure due to such negative projections.

Since females have historically spent more and have more scope to cut back, they will be more inclined to reduce their apparel spend than males. Moreover, older shoppers will remain the most cautious with their spending intentions. A few of the Italian consumers over 55 are planning to spend less on clothing & accessories and footwear due in part to the demographic’s lower interest in following fashion trends. In contrast, a percentage of 16-34s plan to increase their clothing & accessories spending, highlighting their strong interest in trends despite rising prices.

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Italy Apparel Consumer Insights - Who Shops & What They Purchase

An impressive percentage of Italian consumers across all age groups purchased apparel in the past year. However, the percentage was higher for the 35-44 age group, indicating their greater spending power. Additionally, that shopper demographic also has young children to buy for besides themselves. Over 65’s purchased apparel the least, as they are less likely to follow fashion trends and attend less social events. Within clothing specifically, 16-24s purchased the least though, as many shoppers in this bracket are still students or are in entry-level jobs, often meaning lower earnings.

 In the past year, everyday casualwear was the most favored style bought by Italian apparel shoppers. Smart casualwear was the next most purchased category. Loungewear was also purchased frequently as shoppers, particularly those under 45, sought comfortable items to wear at home.

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Italy Apparel Consumer Insights - Where People Shop

Instore was the dominant purchasing channel for apparel in Italy in 2023. The preference for physical stores was more distinct among females as they usually shop for fun and prefer to try items on before buying. However, more than half of apparel shoppers purchased online, proving the growth of this channel since the pandemic. Online shopping was most popular among younger shoppers who spent a lot of time on their phones and laptops. Meanwhile, older shoppers were least likely to shop online, as they are usually less tech-savvy.

The leading apparel brands that most Italian consumers shop from include Nike, Adidas, Zara, H&M, and Levi’s, among others. Among these, Nike was the most popular among Italy shoppers in 2023. The overarching sportswear trend and their dominance in the popular trainers segment drove the preference for Nike and Adidas among Italian consumers.

Italy Apparel Consumer Insights by Popular Brands, 2023 (%)

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Scope

• This report provides detailed consumer insights into Italy’s apparel market.
• The report centers on consumer sentiment, categories purchased, and channel usage.
• The report also covers motivations for purchasing, purchase frequency, and the most popular global brands.

Key Highlights

30.1% of Italian consumers expect to reduce their clothing and accessories spend over the next six months, as well as 26.9% for footwear

74.7% of Italian consumers prefer to spend more on better quality items that will last longer

57.3% of Italians intend to reduce their retail expenditure, mainly by doing more price comparisons online prior to purchasing items and by switching to cheaper brand alternatives.

22.8% of Italian apparel shoppers bought secondhand apparel last year and more consumers plan to reduce their spend on secondhand apparel in the next 12 months than to increase it.

Reasons to Buy

• Identify how rising inflation is influencing how and where Italian consumers shop.
• Learn about where the demand lies within the Italian apparel market, to allow you to maximize customer acquisition.
• Understand consumer sentiment in the Italian apparel market and what this means for apparel brands’ next steps.