The high price reduces the amount of food bought by Italians in 2022 by 3.3%, but they are obliged to pay 4.3% more owing to price rises induced by the energy crisis. This is the conclusion of a Coldiretti investigation of ISTAT data linked to retail sales in September 2022, which showed a reduction in food purchases as compared to the same time the previous year. The effect of inflation is clear in the fact that low-cost food purchases are soaring, with food discounters showing a +9.7% increase in the value of sales during the first nine months, the largest increase in decades. The outcome of the discounters underlines the hardship that Italian families face because of price hikes, which force them to focus their spending through low-cost channels while sacrificing quality. Italians will slalom through the store, changing shops, supermarkets, or cheap store in search of promotions for various things.
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