In Italy, the expenditure for consumption remains stable from one year to the next, but one in three family, to save money, tends to give a cut to the purchases of food, with a large gap in terms of the extent of the existing between those who live in the north and those who are in the south or in the islands. It is the photograph of what happened in Italy from the point of view of consumption in the entire 2024, according to the latest Istat elaborations.
Last year, families who live in Italy spent on average for consumption 2,755 euros per month in current values, a substantially stable figure compared to the 2,738 euros of 2023. Even in the presence of an increase of 0.6% in nominal terms, both Codacons and Confesercenti point the fire on the real data, that is, the one that takes into account the increase in the cost of living. Confesercenti in particular calculates that the purchasing power of the families is net of inflation has recorded a new braking and evaluates in real terms a contraction of around 4 billion euros. In fact, Istat also points out that between 2019 and 2024 the expenditure for families consumption has increased by 7.6% compared to an inflation, measured on the same time span by the harmonized index of IPCA consumer prices, of 18.5%.
According to the surveys of the Statistics Institute, the expenses of families for the purchase of food products and soft drinks remained stable compared to 2023 (532 euros against the previous 526), despite a marked increase in price of +2.5% on an annual basis. The share of those who declare that they have tried during the year to limit the quantity and/or quality of food purchased: 31.1% of families (31.5% in 2023) and for drinks 35.3% of families (35.0% in 2023). Non-food expenditure is equal on average at 2,222 euros per month, 80.7% of the total one, and to the territorial level varies among the 3,032 euros in the north-east and the 2,199 of the South. In practice, last year the families of the North-East spent on average 834 euros more than those living in the South (37.9% more) and 711 euros more than the families of the islands (30.6%). In the South and in the islands, which generally have minor financial resources, the expenditure focuses more on goods and services intended for the satisfaction of primary needs, such as, for example, food (25.4% against the national average of 19.3%), while in the North the fees are higher for the expenses intended for catering and hotels, transportation and recreation, sport and culture. Finally, in 2024, in 2024 Trentino-Alto Adige was the region with the highest monthly average expenditure (3,584 euros), almost double compared to that Puglia (2,000) which is located in the lowest step in the ranking.