Italy’s retail sector opened 2026 with encouraging signs of recovery. After the decline recorded in the final month of 2025, retail sales increased in January both in value and in volume, rising by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively compared with December.
Year-on-year, sales were up 2.3% in value and 0.9% in volume, according to preliminary estimates released by the Istat, Italy’s national statistics institute.
The monthly growth was driven primarily by food products, which rose by 1.1% in value and 0.9% in volume. Non-food items recorded more modest gains, increasing by 0.2% in value and 0.1% in volume.
Compared with January 2025, the strongest growth was again recorded in food sales, up 3.9% in value and 1.5% in volume, while non-food sales rose by 1.2% in value and 0.4% in volume.
Large-scale retail chains saw sales increase by 4.1% year-on-year, while e-commerce recorded an even stronger rise of 4.6%. Small retail outlets posted only marginal growth of 0.2%, while sales outside traditional stores fell by 1.7%.
According to the research office of Confcommercio, the positive January figures reinforce expectations of a relatively favourable start to the year for the Italian economy. While consumer spending remains somewhat uncertain, the simultaneous increase in both the value and volume of retail sales helps ease some concerns about the outlook.