Istat, prices rising and the shopping cart is empty: the data

Prices continue to rise and Italians, to save money, empty their shopping carts. At least that's what Istat data on retail sales for September seem to say.

This is a month in which inflation rose above 4%. Compared to September 2025, retail sales recorded a growth of 1.6% in value (here the increase in prices must be taken into account) but a decline of 0.1% in volume. The decreasing figure concerns both food and non-food sales. Even looking at the monthly comparison, there is a decline. Compared to August, food sales decreased in volume by 0.3% in September.

The reactions

Numbers that have already created controversy. "A country at a standstill. It is certainly not a good sign that upon returning from holidays Italians did not make more purchases than in August, not even to fill empty refrigerators", stated Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union, underlining: "On a trend basis, it is only inflation that is causing sales to rise by 1.6%, given that they are falling in volume. Furthermore, analyzing the form of distribution, it is only e-commerce that is driving sales, the only sector to be in positive territory both in value and in volume together with non-food sales from large-scale retail trade. In short, we are doing badly."

"A weak trend in consumption is also confirmed in September, penalized by an economic framework that continues to be characterized by a high level of uncertainty. In this scenario, the Budget Law represents an important opportunity to direct the available resources towards measures capable of supporting the purchasing power of families and business investments, with the aim of strengthening the conditions for more solid and lasting growth of the Italian economy", reiterated Federdistribuzione.

In-depth analysis

Inflation, how have prices changed compared to salaries? THE DATA