75% of Italians shopped online during lockdown
Amazon was one of the biggest winners from the Covid-19 pandemic in markets where it was already established, such as the United States, Germany and Great Britain.
Many customers went to her to buy everything – from toilet paper to board games.
But one report published in the newspaper The New York Times shows that even countries that traditionally resisted the e-commerce giant are now also falling into its clutches.
The change was particularly noticeable in Italy, one of the first countries hit hard by the virus.
Traditionally, Italians prefer to shop in stores and pay in cash. But after the government imposed Europe's first national coronavirus lockdown, Italians began buying items online in record numbers.
Even after the stores were reopened, the shift in Italian behavior towards e-commerce didn't stop.
People are using Amazon to buy basics like wine and ham, as well as webcams and printer cartridges.
Orders for inflatable pools via the website were so large that some customers complained about the delay in delivery.
'Discreet' success in ten years
Since arriving in the country in 2010, Amazon had had success that was considered only discreet. Less than 40% of Italians shopped online last year, compared with 87% in Britain and 79% in Germany, according to Eurostat.
Among the reasons were the widespread lack of broadband and poor roads for delivering packages, especially in the South.
Italy also has the oldest population in Europe, which has always made many people afraid of providing financial data online. E-commerce accounts for just 8% of retail spending in the country.
“There were some structural problems that we had to face,” admitted Mariangela Marseglia, Amazon’s country manager for Italy, to The New York Times. “Unfortunately, our country was and still is one of those where technological knowledge and culture are low.”
The company began to gain a lot of traction, however, during the pandemic. According to Mariangela, 75% of Italians made online purchases amid the lockdowns imposed in an attempt to contain the virus.
Total online sales are estimated to grow by 26% in 2020 to a record 22,7 billion euros, according to researchers at Milan Polytechnic University.
Netcomm, an Italian retail consortium, called this “ten year evolutionary leap”. More than two million Italians tried e-commerce for the first time between January and May.
Success attracted attention and criticism
Still, there are obstacles. Small and medium-sized businesses are an integral part of Italian society. They represent about 67% of the economy, excluding finance, and about 78% of jobs.
Amazon's success has also drawn criticism. The unions' focus was on labor practices — which resulted in a multi-day strike in March over virus-related safety policies. Italian regulatory bodies are already investigating price increases during the pandemic.
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