The shopping habits of Italians are changing. The channel most used for purchases is still physical retail, with a share of 80,9%, but now 55,2% of our compatriots also use e-commerce, while TV stands at 5,5% %. This is what emerges from the research “Shop, online or TV? The behavior of Italian consumers”, conducted by the QVC Observatory in collaboration with Human Highway on a sample of 2.014 individuals interviewed online, which corresponds to a segment of 31,8 million Italians.
As regards the profile of buyers, the Italian online population has a slight male prevalence (54%) and is made up for more than half of individuals under the age of 45 who mainly use PCs, followed by smartphones and tablets.
Contemporary consumers often overlap different purchasing channels and choose them based on the closest product categories. The physical store is preferred when you need to touch or see the products and have them immediately available, for these reasons it is preferred in the beauty, health and fresh food sectors.
Electronics, furniture and household items, clothing and accessories are mainly purchased online, benefiting from promotions and home delivery services. The sectors that benefit most from TV shopping are beauty and furnishings, thanks to a format that combines entertainment and storytelling.
Finally, in the relationship between offline and online retail, the majority of consumers prefer e-commerce for promotions, the possibility of learning more about products, delivery and after-sales assistance.
