Consumer spending has dropped by as
much as 80 billion euros since 2007, with consumption of
big-ticket items such as cars, furniture and appliances taking a
major hit over that period, retailers group Confcommercio said
Thursday.
Consumption has been "frozen" as consumers wait for
stronger signs of economic recovery, the group said in a report
that also looked at monthly spending in February, which showed a
drop of 0.7% in spending compared with the same month in 2013.
The group said that until Italians feel confident that
employment prospects are improving amid an economic recovery,
they will likely hold off on spending any more than necessary.
That lack of confidence, fuelled by a double-dip recession
causing economic uncertainty dating back to 2007, was seen in
statistics that Confcommercio said showed that cars and fuel
purchases since then have fallen by more than 35 billion euros,
a decrease of 23.2%.
Clothing and footwear showed losses of more than 13 billion
euros, a fall of 16.9% since 2007, while furniture sales
declined by 10 billion euros, or 13.9%.
Some good news was seen in the monthly statistics that
showed in February, compared with one month earlier, spending on
communications rose by 4.3%, auto-related spending gained 1.4%,
and spending on recreation edged up by 0.4%, according to the
report.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
