Commercial desertification, over 24 thousand bars lost in six years in Italy

Commercial desertification doesn't just empty shop windows. It is also canceling thousands of bars, from clubs in small towns to those close to home in big cities. In six years, between 2019 and 2025, more than 24 thousand disappeared, at a rate of around 11 businesses per day. A retreat which, according to Confesercenti, takes away not only economic activities from the territories, but also meeting points rooted in the daily life of the communities.

The association has processed data from the Chambers of Commerce to measure the dimensions of the phenomenon. In 2019, there were 169,839 companies active in the bar service; in 2025 they fell to 145,766, a contraction of 14.2%. Confesercenti estimates the impoverishment produced in six years by the reduction of premises at over 7.2 billion euros, considering the effect on consumption, employment and tax revenue.

The decrease concerns all Italian regions, although with very different intensities. It is the Center that shows the heaviest decline: compared to 2019, 7,323 bars have disappeared, equal to a drop of 20.8%.

In the North-East the reduction reaches 16.3%, while in the North-West it stands at 16.1%. More limited, but still negative, is the trend in the South, where bars decreased by 6.7%, and in the Islands, with a contraction of 6.5%.

Looking instead at the number of businesses lost, the record goes to Lombardy, which records 4,957 fewer bars. Followed by Lazio, with a loss of 4,405 businesses, Veneto with 2,806, Emilia-Romagna with 1,916 and Piedmont with 1,915.