Online sale of typical Italian products: curiosities and questions.

Not many years ago, talking about online sales of typical Italian products seemed disrespectful and, essentially, impossible for consumers in Italy. But how is it possible for one of our compatriots to trust taking a product from the Italian agri-food or enogastronomic tradition without having first seen it, touched it, smelled it, and so on?

A mystery that at the beginning of the 2000s one of the pioneering Italian online sales portals tried to debunk. Do you remember Esperia.com? A portal that then had to succumb to its prematurity, not to its lack of reliability. The times were not ripe. They weren't in Italy. It seemed that the closure of Esperia represented a definitive condemnation of the online sale of typical products. It was said: “wine is another thing, but mozzarella, typical cured meats, traditional cake... no, for those it is impossible.”

It took time for companies to gain trust in online sales portals. Yet in other countries around the world, food was already no longer a taboo on the web. In America and digital California, even in 2005 there were multiple experiences of online sales of wine and oil in particular. In Europe, the first region was Central Europe, with Germany, the Netherlands, and Nordic countries in the forefront. But the Mediterranean countries lagged behind, and even today online sales of typical products are marginal compared to those nations.

So what is the current average of online sales of typical products in Italy?

We are still far from very significant figures, but the annual growth over the last three years is still in double digits. In fact, today it is advisable for companies in the food sector, in particular, to be part of an e-commerce portal. According to the most recent data obtained from the B2C E-Commerce Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, it confirms a 30% growth in 2016. A figure that is very close to that of the growth of sales of digital and technological products and fashion. The online sale of typical Italian products in the digital food world remains, however, at 3%. A figure that is significantly lower than other European countries, especially those in Central Europe. Eastern countries are ahead of us, and Poland is even growing at a dizzying pace.

How many typical products do Italians buy online?

Dividing the sector into three categories, grocery food (supermarkets and large distribution), enogastronomy (portals for typical products like ours) and restaurants (ready-to-eat food), we can see the following results.
The grocery sector increased by 40% in 2016 compared to 2015, reaching a value of 188 million euros. Supermarkets like Carrefours, Esselunga, Tigros, alongside Eataly and Amazon's Prime Now, are driving this new trend.

The enogastronomy sector had a growth of 17% in 2016. A bit lower compared to the previous year. The category of online sites like Spaghetti&Mandolino still represents the one with the highest value of purchases, slightly over 240 million euros. This is because online sales portals offer much more selected and rare typical products at significantly higher costs compared to grocery.

The online restaurant sector saw a growth of 29% in 2016 and is undoubtedly the most interesting novelty. Lunch and dinner online, deliveries to the door already two hours after the order, and other services.

What role does mobile play in the purchase of typical Italian products sold online?

It is known that smartphones, as a recent advertisement states, are also used for calling. But above all, they seem to be used for browsing and buying. In fact, it is estimated that 21 online purchases out of 100 in Italy are made using mobile, and this has increased by 51% compared to 2015, reaching around 100 million euros.

Why do Italians buy typical products on the internet?

We need to make a distinction between consumers in metropolitan areas and those in the Italian provinces. Cities like Milan, Rome, Bologna, Florence, Turin, and Naples alone account for the majority of orders. Excellent results also come from the south where the growth of online purchases has significantly increased. People shop online for the convenience of shopping, for the timely delivery of purchases, for the wide selection of products and their availability, sometimes for prices lower than physical stores. This last point does not always apply to online stores but mostly for lower-cost products coming from Grocery.

What are the advantages of opening an online shop for typical Italian products?

There are multiple reasons that lead companies to entrust the sale of their products to online platforms. First of all, for the greater number of customers reachable, for the better visibility of the brand, and for the lower management costs of the business compared to a physical store.

How should typical products be promoted online?

If a company thinks of opening an online platform to sell immediately, it is making a big mistake. Opening an online shop at the beginning is like having a small store in a dead-end alley in a little-frequented area of the city. Being online is the least: the most is knowing how to promote oneself. This is why platforms are the best solution. They guarantee a daily activity of product positioning, mobile-oriented, with targeted strategies activated by e-commerce professionals. They have a database of appropriate images for sale, a solid and efficient SEO mechanism. Furthermore, platforms can afford continuous targeted campaigns on social channels and more to increase traffic and visibility online.

What are the advantages of buying typical products online?

If one can set aside skepticism, which is also typically Italian, and place more value on the word “trust,” significant advantages can be obtained from online purchases.

First of all, the sales platforms are the first to maintain a high level of quality control of the product and the seriousness of the supplying companies. Their reputation, which is always crucial, also depends on it. Furthermore, it is possible to buy products that are impossible to find in other forms of food product sales. In many cases, the sale is direct from individual producers. In this way, products remain fresh upon arrival, and above all, a very short production chain is preserved. Even being hundreds of kilometers away sometimes, a Campanian buffalo mozzarella DOP coming from a dairy in Cilento the day after its production seems more “km 0” than many other pseudo-announcements that are too often not truthful.

Finally, the data from the online sale of typical Italian products in the grocery and enogastronomy sectors is definitely surprising, testifying to the fact that the Millennial generations and even the previous ones have now trusted the internet and the operators who work there. Moreover, logistics has made giant strides, and deliveries have now become an element that no longer leaves anyone dissatisfied or alarmed while waiting for the package.

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M