Food spending is subject to continuous price increases, with inflation hitting +6.2 percent year-on-year in April. To cope with yet another crisis, Italians are changing their sales channel and purchasing strategy.
Inflation on food spending
ISMEA’s ‘Impact of Inflation on Italians’ Consumption‘ survey involved 3 thousand households (representative of the Italy sample). (1)
More than 60 percent of respondents have a realistic grasp of the situation and believe that in the next three months, inflation will rise a lot, up to 10 percent.
The remaining 40 percent of the sample is split down the middle, between the pessimists (mainly very young low-income residents of the South), who believe that by the summer price increases will exceed 10 percent, and the optimists who expect inflation to return to within 3 percent.
Concerns about basic foodstuffs
Travel (23 percent), entertainment and restaurant meals (21 percent), and clothing (15 percent) excel among Italians’ sacrifices. Only 1 percent of the sample feared they would be forced to cut their food budget as well.
The most common fear is the increase in the price of basic necessities (94% of respondents). But more than half (52 percent) even express concern that they will no longer find the products on the shelves.
In search of convenience
The search for affordable prices revives the hypermarket channel, which was heavily penalized in 2020 with lockdowns forcing purchases under the home. Seventy percent of respondents consider it the ideal store in which to find the best combination of assortment/offers.
Fifty-eight percent of the sample then plans to change stores or signs in search of greater discounts, 57 percent to target discount stores, and 35 percent to target local markets.
Thirteen percent of households say they will also rely onecommerce in their search for convenience. However, this convenient option is rarely a source of savings in food spending, as we have seen.
Less waste, more planning
To cope with the impact of inflation on food spending, Italians are turning to a strategy of forced savings that also has positive implications.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the households surveyed plan to reduce food waste, which is excessive today, and nearly half (48%) plan to reduce unnecessary purchases and pay more attention to value for money and price/weight ratio in purchases. Learning to check the price per kg instead of per package is an attitude full of surprises.
The good habit of planning purchases with a list is the intention of 38 percent of respondents.
Tough times for emblazoned brands?
For the brands that dominate the market, sometimes more because of the advertising battage than because of actual product quality, the balance could change. A prospect, after all, anticipated by Coop’s turnaround, which has strongly relaunched its branded products, in the key of better value for money.
In fact, respondents state their intention to forgo premium products (27 percent), brands except when on promotion (22 percent), turn to distributor brands (14 percent), and to reduce quantity in favor of quality (9 percent).
Quality, according to 70% of respondents, is of the 100% Italian product. Irreplaceable for almost one in two are also PDO/PGI, sustainably farmed or organic products.
Drivers of choice
Choice drivers change depending on the product:
– knownbrand (brand). It is considered important in the choice of pasta (29 percent), frozen foods (27 percent), passata (24 percent) and milk (20 percent),
– Origin of raw materials. It is the top driver of choice for meat, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and extra virgin olive oil, for between 66 percent and 58 percent of consumers,
– guarantee of sustainability. It mainly affects the purchase of eggs (14 percent), fresh bread (10 percent), white meat and red meat (both at 9 percent),
– organoleptic qualities. First comes bread with 44 percent, followed by wine and cheese (37 percent), seasonal fruits (31 percent).
Inflation and portions of food spending
TheISMEA survey also questioned households on the elasticity of demand in the face of rising prices.
The result reflects the ability to spend. To varying degrees, Italians plan to buy the same amounts of the following food groups:
– bread, milk and extra virgin olive oil, staple foods in the Italian diet, for 35 percent of respondents,
– eggs and fresh fruit, other food staples, 33 percent of the sample,
– fish (22%),
– cheeses (20 percent),
– wine (19%),
– frozen (18 percent).
The effects of inflation on food spending are severe. ISMEA respondents, however, say that if the price increase is contained within 3 percent, habits will not change even for wine (47 percent), frozen foods (45 percent) and passata (41 percent).
Managers of the public good, rarely grappling with the population’s need for sustenance, will also be able to draw suggestions from this survey.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
