Household spending down 1.5% in real terms in 2023

Many families have started limiting food spending says agency

By: ansa.it

Oct 10 2024
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Household spending down 1.5% i

Italian households' monthly spending fell by 1.5% in real terms last year, Istat said on Thursday.
    The national statistics agency said the average family spent 2,738 euros a month in 2023, up 4.3% in nominal terms on the average of 2,625 euros for 2022.
    But when last year's high inflation levels are taken into account, that is actually 1.5% down in real terms, Istat said.
    It said many households are trying to cope with the cost-of-living crisis by saving less and cutting food spending.
    It said the propensity to save dropped to 6.3%, down from 7.8% in 2022 and from 8.0% in 2019 before the Covid pandemic.
    "Similarly to what we saw the previous year, families changed their purchasing choices in 2023 too, in particular in the food sector," Istat said, "31.5% of the families interviewed in 2023 declared that they tried to limit, compared to a year earlier, the quantity and/or the quality of the food purchased".