Italy may be known for its high fashion, delicious food, brilliant art and architecture, yet when it comes to ecommerce it seems they still have some catching up to do. Whilst 35% of the European population is said to regularly shop online, the same can only be said for 11% of Italians.
Furthermore, 37% of the Italian population has never accessed the internet, which is a staggering figure when compared to current internet access statistics, which show much of the rest of Europe to have more than 85% of the population online.
That said, it seems that Italy’s younger generation is catching on to the internet trend as over 90% of the population aged between 18 and 24 years is now online and more than 90% of all online users own a social media account.
This is great news, especially for social media savvy businesses that can use their online presence to interact with their clients and build confidence around their brand and products. Through targeted campaigns they can potentially circumvent known trust issues that might be stopping potential clients from engaging with their offerings.
Judging by the current online trends of the Italian population, it seems that there are three key points for businesses to follow if they are to be successful in the Italian ecommerce sector: they need to think young, they need to think native and they need to think Google.
The Italian market certainly shows promise for the future, but there is still some work to be done until the full potential of Italian ecommerce is unlocked. Take a look at the infographic below for an idea of the challenges that lie ahead.
Source: Search Laboratory
