Italy's retail sales edge up in February, annual trend weakens

Retail trade in Italy showed a slight improvement in February 2025, with the seasonally adjusted index rising by 0.1 per cent in value terms month-on-month (MoM), while sales volume remained flat, according to Istat, the official statistics agency.

In the three months to February 2025, retail sales value inched up by 0.1 per cent, while sales volume contracted by 0.3 per cent compared to the previous three-month period.

Year-on-year (YoY), the picture is notably more negative. The value of retail trade fell by 1.5 per cent, and the volume of goods sold dropped by 2.5 per cent compared to February 2024.

Looking across distribution channels, all sectors posted YoY declines. Large-scale distribution saw a fall of 0.5 per cent, small-scale distribution was down 2.4 per cent and non-store retail sales declined by 2.2 per cent. Online sales were also down 1.9 per cent, marking the second consecutive month of decline for e-commerce, as per Istat.

Non-food products performed particularly poorly. The steepest YoY drop was recorded in the category of shoes, leather goods and travel items, which slumped by 6.2 per cent.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (HU)