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Since 2021, the inflation rate in Italy suddenly has surged to levels never touched in the past ten years. Hence, Italians had to change their approach to everyday life, adopting new food spending habits to counter the erosion of purchasing power. In particular, for 50 percent of the interviewees, avoiding the buy of superfluous goods and a limitation of food waste were the best strategies against rising prices. Moreover, around 40 percent of the citizens decided to purchase more frequently — and possibly store — products on offer. Instead, one third of the respondents did the grocery shopping in the more affordable discount stores. However, from the survey emerges that Italians were less keen to renounce to name brand products in favor of private label goods. In fact, one fourth of the consumers declared to buy more store brands, but only 18 percent chose to purchase exclusively them. In 2023, still 70 percent of customers preferred to buy national brands rather than store labels. Hence, Italian consumers faced the growing inflation cutting optional expenses, maximizing the necessary ones, and incrementing food provisions, without quitting label goods consumption, perceived to have a higher quality than the private brand competitors.

Strategies of consumers to reduce the impact of inflation on food spending in Italy in 2023

Characteristic	Share of respondents
We do not buy unnecessary products	51%
We limit food waste	49%
We purchase products on offer	46%
We store products on offer	42%
We buy the cheapest products, even if not usual	32%
We go to discount stores	32%
We purchase fewer expensive goods	31%
We buy name brand products only on offer	29%
We purchase more private brand products	26%
We reduce the quantities	23%
We change nutrition habits	22%
We give up name brand products	18%
We go grocery shopping less frequently	18%
We buy directly from producers	14%
Nothing changed	4%