Y-o-y e-commerce revenue growth in Italy 2009-2021

In 2021, the market size of the e-commerce sector in Italy grew by 33 percent, data from Casaleggio Associati revealed. This represented a massive increase compared to the previous year's trend. In 2020, the year-over-year change registered a negative trend for the first time in more than a decade.

Mobile e-commerce on the rise

  In 2019, 56 percent of the online purchases of Italian customers were finalized via desktop. In the same year, purchases carried out via smartphone accounted for 39 percent of the total, whereas purchases made via tablet represented only five percent of the total. Mobile devices, however, are catching up. Online purchases via smartphone increased by 58 percent in recent years. Moreover, mobile e-commerce accounted for 43.5 percent of the total e-commerce market size in Italy in 2019. 

Why do Italians shop online?

  E-commerce growth in popularity is due to different reasons. Mainly, it appears that online shopping is generally convenient and fast compared to offline shopping, which attracts many users. In fact, a survey conducted among Italians in 2019 revealed that convenient prices and a wide range of options were the main reasons to shop online. Furthermore, many e-commerce users also appreciated the possibility to access products and services offered by foreign e-commerce websites.