In Italy, the distribution channel for the purchase of fruit and vegetables is still following a trend which started in the first years of the new millennium, when there was a noticeable decrease of shopping done in local markets and by street vendors in favour of supermarkets. In ten years, the market shares of the former have gone from 36 to 23%, whereas those of supermarkets have risen from 26 to 35%.
According to data on fruit and vegetable consumption in Italy during 2012, collected by Ferrara's Cso Centro servizi ortofrutticoli based on the research carried out by GFK Italia, the economic situation of families is one of the reasons why discount stores gained another percentage point of shares after four years of being unstable and have stabilised at around 8%.
Specialised retailers are still stable (17%), just like small surfaces (2%) and traditional retailers (2%).
Fruit and vegetables: evolution of retail purchases arranged according to the commercial channels depending on quantities (% on total). Bottom up, hypermarkets are in blue (12%), supermarkets are in red (35%) discount stores are in green (8%) and small surfaces are in purple (2%). Click here to enlarge the chart.
In terms of volume (see chart above), the leadership of modern distribution with 57% is confirmed (hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount stores and small surfaces) by a constantly increasing trend since 2003 (+0.9% with respect to last year), even though many operators indicated a worsening in profit margins on fruit and vegetable products.
In terms of value, the trend is the same though with different percentages: 61% for modern distribution, 21% for street retailers, 16% for specialised retailers, etc. In the chart below, the retail purchases of fruit and vegetables are arranged according to marketing channels depending on value (in 1,000 Euros).
Click here to enlarge the chart.
Average purchase prices
If we talk about average purchase prices per marketing channel, starting from 2003 the average trend shows a 14% increase: from €1.48/kg to €1.67/kg.
Street vendors still have the lowest prices, with an average value of €1.52/kg. They are followed by discount stores, with an average price of €1.59/kg, hypermarkets with €1.72/kg and small surfaces with €1.81/kg. The most expensive channel for fresh produce are supermarkets, with €1.82/kg (see chart below).
Retail purchases of fruit and vegetables: average price of the main channels (€/kg). Source: CSO processing from GFK Italia data. Click here to enlarge the chart.
The geographic distribution of fruit and vegetable retail purchases
In 2012, the geographical distribution of consumption was in line with previous years i.e. volumes were the same: 27% of total national purchases were concentrated in the North-West, 18% in the North-East, 18% in the Centre and 37% in the South and on the islands.
In terms of value, despite stable distribution, percentages change noticeably: 31% of purchases were concentrated in the North-West, 20% in the North-East, 19% in the Centre and 30% in the South and on the islands.
In 2012, average prices increased everywhere: €1.91/kg in the North-West, €1.86/kg in the North-East, €1.78/kg in the Centre, €1.39/kg in the South and on the islands.
As regards fruit and vegetable retail, 35% of purchases were concentrated in supermarkets in the North-West. Local markets and street vendors were stable at 21% and hypermarkets were at 18%. Discount stores, which ten years ago were at 6%, reached 9%.
In the North-East there are two aspects to stress: the supremacy of supermarkets, which reach the highest share in Italy with 63%, and the marginal role of street vendors, from whom only 3% of purchases are made.
As is known, purchasing habits change dramatically from North to South, thought the Centre still has a preference for modern distribution, and in particular for supermarkets (43%) at the expense of street retailers (17%). Hypermarkets (11%), discount stores (12%) and specialised retailers (13%) follow.
Finally, in the South and on the islands, traditional sellers like street markets and greengrocers still retained 63% of shares in 2012. However, since 2003, when such share was of 81%, the commercial space has been occupied by supermarkets, which today make up 17% of purchases and by discount stores, which reached 7% in 2012. Hypermarkets are stable at 7%.
