Now that Christmas is rapidly approaching, the last stretch of shopping has arrived. 58% of Italians will wait until the last minute to look for gifts to put under the tree for family, friends, and relatives. They will do this right before the shops close. This is what comes out of a survey of consumers across the country that IPSOS did for CONFESERCENTI. With such tight margins, retailers outperform online, but are hampered by delivery times: 89% of consumers will buy something in a store, while 59% will also buy something online. Good news for the about 600,000 small and large businesses in Italy's sales network: they will stay open until the evening of Christmas Eve to make it easier for people to buy things. On average, each person will spend 197 euros on Christmas gifts in 2022. This is 39 euros less than what they spent last year. Uncertainty and a drop in purchasing power are keeping a lot of people from buying things. Only 39% of Italians say they plan to keep spending the same as last year, while almost half (47%, and up to 54% in the Central regions) say they will cut their budget for gifts compared to last year. Only 14% say they will spend more.
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