Late compared to other years, but here we are. The sales officially start on Saturday 1st August throughout Italy, postponed for a month due to coronavirus. In reality, many regions, in agreement with the Conference of Regions chaired by Stefano Bonaccini, had decided in any case to anticipate: Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Molise and Piedmont. From 1 August they will be joined by all the others. However, the early departure of half of Italy made it possible to detect the first sales trends at the end of the season. And obviously they are not exciting: as expected, there has been a drop in spending between 40% and 50% compared to periods of economic normality. Among the most sought-after products, according to data from the Italian Fashion Federation-Confcommercio, the classics of the season: t-shirts, trousers, dresses, Bermuda shorts, shirts, swimsuits, women's shoes and sandals.
The average expenditure, according to Confcommercio forecasts, will therefore not exceed 135 euros per family, while each person will spend no more than 58 euros on sales. However, the situation is not so grim, according to the words of Renato Borghi, President of the Italian Fashion Federation-Confcommercio: “They are anomalous balances, but still balances that generate joy, satisfaction and good humor for people looking for bargains. For traders they represent a moment to sum up a season that was immediately "cut off", but which can still reserve some surprises. A little cash always helps. What matters is that consumers continue to support with their purchases, which are even more convenient today".
Confcommercio also made it clear that sales are taking place in maximum safety, following the protocol that we all know by now: distance of at least 1 meter between people inside the shops, hand disinfection, mandatory maskspossibility to change products already purchased only at the seller's discretion (unless damaged products), no obligation to have products tried on in the fitting rooms, electronic payments as much as possible, short stays in shops. And obviously, but the virus has nothing to do with this, the strict obligation for the shopkeeper to indicate the normal selling price, the discount and the final price.
