How is E-Commerce Impacting the Food & Grocery Market in Italy?

Online shopping has changed the way many markets interact with their target audience. Global e-commerce is a massive industry that is set to cross the USD 47 trillion mark by 2030. 

Thinking about food, although it is a top priority for most Italians, this isn’t reflected in online shopping statistics. According to recent figures, food and grocery comprise only 0.5 per cent of retail purchases in Italy, compared to 8 percent of overall retail purchases in the UK and 6 per cent in France. Why is the Italian food online sector lagging behind? Keep reading to find out. 

A Far-Reaching Problem

According to specialists, the main reason behind the food and grocery sector’s sluggish growth in e-commerce is limited coverage. It’s not easy to find options that can be delivered nationwide, and the ones that exist are mostly concentrated in big cities like Rome or Milan. Shoppers in distant areas still have to rely on local Italian food online small businesses. 

Researchers believe another factor holding down the numbers is the companies’ lack of interest in e-commerce. They simply aren’t interested in investing in it, resulting in a lack of options. Although mass retail initiatives have recently gained traction around the country, there’s still a lot to be explored. 

Click here to shop for top ingredients at the best Italian food online store. 

Filling the Basket

Despite the difficulties of Italian food online businesses, the overall e-commerce industry is improving in Italy and is expected to reach USD 103 billion by 2029. Food has been one of the driving markets behind this growth since 2022. Such growth is even more impressive knowing that online food consumption dropped worldwide in the same period.

Still, only 71 per cent of Italians have access to food delivery services, a market that’ll reach EUR 6.21 million by the end of this year. So far, the sector is dominated by Just Eat, followed by Glovoo and Deliveroo, but there’s growing collaboration between smaller online retailers across the country. 

Food E-Commerce Trends

When shopping for groceries or food, most consumers prefer organic and locally sourced options. Additionally, packaged food seems to top the preference of Italian online shoppers, representing 8.7 per cent of all retail packaged food in Italy. 

Other factors are also heating this market. Widespread smartphone ownership and 5G accessibility mean more business opportunities. Both technologies allow for new forms of digital payments, making an Italian food online store even more convenient. 

About 97 per cent of the Italian population owns a smartphone, while the number of smartphones connected to the internet (81.55 million) is even bigger than the country’s population (58.79 million), showing that there’s still a huge market to be explored.

Conclusion 

Despite the lack of nationwide services that can deliver in the country’s distant corners, online food purchases have been increasing steadily in the past few years. Better still, it seems to be on an upward trend until at least 2030.