When one thinks of Italy he thinks of gondoliers rowing up the Venice canals, the unfortunately Leaning tower of Pisa and how gladiators used to fight lions in the Colloseum. The country shaped as a boot stretching from the end of Central through the south of Europe is known as the Old Continent’s historical jewel. It’s the reason why Italy is the fifth most visited country in international tourism arrivals.
Source: Emarketer.com
Tourism is one of Italy’s most profitable industrial sectors also in terms of e-commerce. In total, e-commerce sales in 2016 reached € 19.6 billion ranking Italy the 5th largest e-commerce market in Europe. Though Amazon.it and Ebay.it have secured their fare share, Zalando.it is the biggest B2C e-commerce site ranked by unique visits per month selling clothing goods. Italians are known for their passion for fashion and it’s why € 1.9 billion of online sales are allocated in the clothing sector.
Research on Italian social media users shows that there’s a higher penetration among women than man. This is due to the popularity of fashion and beauty topics on social networks. After Facebook, YouTube is the second most popular social network covering 74% of internet users between 14-29 years old. The focus on brands, celebrities and fashion explains why Instagram ranks 3rd among the most used social media, while Twitter lacks behind on 5th place. Italians are famous for being chatty and politics is a popular topic. It’s the reason why news websites such as Repubblica.it, Corriere.it and Libero.it consistently rank among the top 20 most visited Italian websites.
