Market Trends of Italy Apparel Logistics Industry
Increasing demand from consumers is driving the market
Confindustria Moda's latest report shows a complex economic landscape for Italy's fashion industry, which employs more than 5.3 million people in 150,000 companies operating in the manufacturing and service sectors, with a turnover of EUR 111.7 billion (USD 120.51 billion) in the previous year, which is a year-on-year increase.
However, this increase is volatile because it is based on higher sales value rather than actual product volume — a sign of the slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The association is concerned about this shift and is lowering its expectations for the current year. Although revenue is increasing, challenges are mounting in the form of lower profit margins due to higher energy and raw material costs.
The outlook for this year is optimistic, with the expectation that energy costs will return to pre-COVID levels, although there are still uncertainties regarding raw materials. In terms of export volume, the sector grew by 5.1% in the first half of the previous year to a total of EUR 54.5 billion (USD 58.80 billion).
The European Union accounted for 47% of total exports, with regions outside the EU making up the remaining 53%. China, in particular, is expected to see a shift towards domestic products in favour of imports.
The industry faces a number of challenges, such as instability in the world, geopolitical changes, and increasing production costs. To overcome these, it is essential to work together to address issues in terms of training, sustainability and innovation, which will strengthen the industry in the face of future challenges.
Online sales and high internet penetration driving the market
About 40 million consumers shop online. Italy is lagging behind its European peers in fixed broadband, and many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lack the financial means to modernize their infrastructure. E-commerce in Italy generated a revenue of EUR 77 billion (USD 82.93 billion), although inflation contributed to the year-on-year increase.
All forms of online shopping are available, and digital payment systems have developed significantly. Cash accounted for 44% of all transactions, but e-commerce is expected to continue its upward trajectory. The top e-commerce sites in Italy are Amazon, eBay, Subito, Zalando, and Apple.
Italy's internet penetration rate was 86.5% at the beginning of the previous year, according to Kepios analysis. Italy had 50.79 million internet users. The number of internet users decreased by 141,000, or 0.3% in the last two years.
In Italy, the median mobile broadband connection speed increased by 4.72 megabytes per second (Mbps) in the 12-month period last year, or 13.7%. In Italy, fixed internet connection speeds increased by 20.7%, rising to 10.30Mbps.
Italian consumers are increasingly turning to digital services, and the market is evolving. The digital transformation is driven by government investments in infrastructure and key players.
