22/7/2011 00:00:00
According to the "Outlook on consumption" by Confcommercio, a growing share of households have increased consumption in the first half of 2011 (54.3% compared to 48.3% in the second half of 2010) although the increase is due mainly to spending for gasoline and parking. Over 50% of the sample used all the disposable income to cover consumption and almost 20% spent more than they earned (in the latter case, 65% had to use their savings); only 7% put aside resources to face major expenses like buying a house (investing in real estate remains the best possible use of savings). As for the future, a widespread attitude of caution prevails with nearly 66% of the sample expecting to keep expenditures stable over the next six months. The number of uncertain increase (from 13.7% in January to 21.8% in June), the pessimists decrease (from 45.1% to 37.5%) and the share of optimists remains stable (from 41.3 % to 40.7%).
Download the presentation by Mr. Mariano Bella, manager of Confcommercio Study Department
