In detail, from the analysis of the Center for Training and Research on Consumption it emerges that at a nominal level the average monthly expenditure on consumption in Italy went from 2,560 euros in 2019 to 2,782 euros in 2025: the increase was equal to approximately 222 euros per household, although with strong differences across the territory. However, the consumption data are very different if we take into account the strong increases in prices and tariffs that have occurred in recent years: Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis have in fact led to an increase in costs in retail price lists in practically all sectors.
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And the increases discussed have not been reabsorbed over time, and therefore Italians still continue to pay these amounts today, finding themselves forced to change their spending habits. Therefore, as mentioned, net of inflation in 2025, the average real expenditure in Italy appears to have reduced by 8.7% compared to the period before the pandemic, with a virtual drop of 224 euros per family unit.
There are also important territorial differences: Puglia in fact appears to be the region that records the strongest reduction in real spending, which fell on average by 18.7% since 2019, followed by Bolzano (-17.2%), a province that pays the price for the highest inflation rate in recent years, and Calabria (-14.9%). Contrary to the trend, however, is Umbria, where family spending increased in real terms by 9.9% in the 2019-2025 comparison, the Marche (+9%), Trento (+8.2%), Abruzzo (+6.1%).
And the trend does not appear to be decreasing if we look at what has happened in the last year: based on Istat data, in fact, it emerges that one in three families has reduced spending on food and drinks, 44% has reduced spending on clothing, 38.2% has cut purchases for personal care, 25.4% has cut spending on healthcare, while almost half of the families (45% of the total) have changed their travel habits. “The strong increase in retail prices recorded in recent years has produced a paradoxical situation: Italians spend more to buy less and less,” said the president of the scientific committee of the CRC, Furio Truzzi.
Codacons, which analyzed recent Istat data relating to the period 2015-2025, also offers a further insight into how Italians' consumption has changed. From this it emerges that on average spending on food is now 25% higher than 10 years ago. For food and non-alcoholic drinks, the monthly outlay went from 441 euros per month in 2015 to 552 euros in 2025, equal to an increased annual expense of 1,326 euros per family. The most significant increase concerns ready meals and food preparations, which in the period recorded a boom of 254%, equal to an increased expenditure of 307 euros per year per household.
Observing the trend of costs for some types of products, families spend on average 67% more for coffee and cocoa (+99 euros per year), and almost +38% for oils and fats (+65 euros per year). However, as regards meat and vegetables, spending increased by almost 20%, +21% sugar and sweets, +17% milk, eggs and cheeses, +14% bread.
In any case, Codacons also clarified that the increase in spending does not mean that Italians' pantries are fuller today: "the heavy price increases that have affected the food sector in recent years must be considered, including climate changes that have caused the prices of raw materials to skyrocket, the war in Ukraine that has led to increases in cereals, dairy products and oils, and the cost of energy dumped on the final price lists to the public".
Non-food consumption confirms the weight of inflation on the shopping cart: the latter in fact recorded a much smaller increase of +8.4%, with some items even recording a decrease. Compared to 10 years, spending for the recreation, entertainment and culture sector decreases by 16.7%, equal on average to a lower outlay of 253 euros per year per family, that for clothing and footwear drops by 9% (-125 euros per year), while spending on tobacco and alcoholic beverages decreases by 4.1% (approximately -22 euros per year).
Instead, for the house, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, each family spends around 11% more (+1,180 euros per year), +10.7% for transport (+341 euros per year). The most substantial increase, in any case, is recorded for the accommodation and catering services item: families spend a third more than 10 years ago (+33.7%, +495 euros per year). "And certainly not because Italians travel more: the tourism sector, thanks to the Covid pandemic and high bills, is among those that have recorded the strongest price increases in recent years", underlined Codacons.
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