Italy, e-commerce and logistics
In the last few years, e-commerce in Italy has experienced extensive growth.
If you are thinking of shipping to Italy, you'll find a progressive market with a reliable and large customer base waiting to buy your products.
Why Italy?
E-commerce in Italy is becoming increasingly popular. The current boom that Italians are seeing started in the pandemic and since then the pace has shifted rapidly. The digital evolution has also been fuelled by substantial government investment in infrastructure and key operators.
Nowadays, many Italian businesses are benefitting from online channels for their business sales. In Italy, approximately 38 million user's purchase physical goods online, and this number is expected to rise in the upcoming years.
- 75.9 billion Euro
- Retail e-commerce revenue in Italy
- 19%
- Year on year e-commerce revenue
- China
- Main overseas market
[Stats taken from: www.statista.com/topics/6461/e-commerce-in-italy#topicOverview]
The e-commerce landscape
As italian consumers continue to embrace digital services, the market is becoming increasingly more sophisticated. About 50 million Italians (85% of the population) use the internet and nearly 40 million shop online.2
It's worth noting, however, that Italy still lags behind Europe when it comes to fixed broadband and many small and medium enterprises lack the funds to upgrade their infrastructure.
While all forms of e-commerce are available and digital payment systems are well developed, Italy remains somewhat of a cash-based society. For example, cash was used for 44% of transaction in 20223. Regardless of this, e-commerce is still poised to continue on an upward trend.
Opportunities
Italians frequently purchase from foreign retailers and China, Germany, and the UK are among the most popular destinations. Top e-commerce sites include Amazon, eBay, Subito, Zalando, and Apple. Mobile phone purchases are becoming increasingly popular and, along with cards, now account for roughly 40%4 of all sales.
Approximately 75% of the population in Italy use social media, with LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok all popular. Many consumers will react to comments of reviews on social media, which prompts their purchases.
The top categories for online shopping in Italy
Logistics
There are many couriers and shipping companies offering to ship to Italy, as well as many major online markets. However, it pays to shop around to find the best rates. Other factors, such as delivery times and customer service may be of equal importance to you and your business, so we'd always recommend looking at the full picture.
You can familiarise yourself with the weights and prices of sending a package to Italy using our helpful shipping rates chart .
Keep in mind:
Italy calculates shipping using the CIF (cost, insurance and freight) method, which means the import duty and taxes are calculated based on the value of the imported goods as well as shipping costs. The tax threshold is low at 22 euros, which makes it likely that your shipment will have a VAT / GST tax of 20% applied.
What our experts say:
“Italy represents a prime opportunity for e-commerce entrepreneurs looking to expand their remit.”
Ben Bagnulo, CEO, SAMOS.