ISTAT: THE ITALIAN TABLE IS GETTING MORE AND MORE”BARE”. 6 FAMILIES IN 10 HAVE CHANGED MENUS. HARD TIMES HAVE MADE ITALIANS CHANGE THEIR EATING HABITS. SALES ARE HIGHER FOR LOW QUALITY PRODUCTS, HARD DISCOUNT PURCHASES AND PROMOTIONS

The Italian table is more and more “bare”... The economic crisis has reduced buying power and lower incomes have forced Italian families to reduce the amount of groceries they buy as well as modify their eating habits: in 2010, four families in 10 “cut down” their grocery budget, while 60% due to necessity had to change their menus and 35% opted for lower quality products.

On the other hand, there has been a “boom” in purchasing promotional products in low price stores, especially hard-discount stores where there was a 10% sales increase in 2009. These are the results from CIA-the Italian confederation of farmers relative to the ISTAT (Italian statistics agency) 2010 state of the Nation Report. In 2010 each Italian family spent, on the average, 461 euros a month for groceries. This figure (that represents 18.9% of the total which reaches 146 billion euros a year) is quite different in the various geographic areas: in the North, says CIA, it is 455 euros, in the Center 472 euros and in the South 463 euros.

In reference to “cuts” in groceries, CIA points out that 42% of families have had to reduce meat, especially beef, purchases, bread, 38%; olive oil 36% and wine 35%. Instead, families nationwide chose to purchase lower quality products: 40.2% bread, 46.2% beef, 44.5% fruit, 39.7% vegetables and 32.5% cold cuts.

CIA also points out that the percentage of families that purchase food products at hard-discount stores where prices are much lower has increased (10.6% of the total). Italians, however, do most of their shopping at supermarkets and superstores, 68.4% (in the Center-North 73%).

This economic crisis, which is harder felt and different from past ones, is conditioning grocery shopping habits. On the other hand, says CIA, Italians had already begun changing their buying habits and their life styles, over the past few years. The difficult economic situation has in some cases only accelerated these changes: people are more aware of what they are buying and pay more attention to the price because they want to spend their money wisely. Consumers look for more convenient alternatives, like hard-discount stores, promotions and pay greater attention to discounts and special offers.