ROMA (ITALPRESS) – A departure of summer sales 2026 substantially weak to total market. Sales for both clothing-accessories -0.4% and other retail -0.1% are slightly negative. The average receipt shows similar trends in quantitative terms, thus without significant shifts compared to 2025. On the front of the visits, clothing-accessories marks a decrease of -2,4%, while other retail shows a slightly growing turnout compared to 2025 to +1.4%. These are the findings of the Confimprese Study Centre on the first weekend of the summer sales started on July 4.
“The balances are no longer, alone, an engine of consumption – warns Mario Resca, President Confimprese –. Customers look for convenience, but they only buy what they really feel necessary. It is a more selective and aware consumer who compares prices and postpones unnecessary purchases. This is why today the competitiveness of retail is increasingly played on the quality of the offer, service and purchasing experience, as well as on the discount. The consumer controls the value of the receipt, confirming a prudent approach even during the promotional period.”.
In the clothing-accessory sector there is a misalignment between traffic and sales: in the face of a decline in visits and a substantially stable average receipt, sales record a low decline. On the contrary, for other retailers the increase of visits does not result in a similar improvement of sales, which remain almost stable. These dynamics suggest differences in consumer purchasing behaviour and, in the case of clothing-accessories, they are consistent with a possible improvement in the conversion rate.
The best performing channel on the weekend of sale remains the mall, indicated by almost 60% of retailers. They follow, with detachment, high street and outlet. Reduced purchasing power and climate factors are the main drivers for retailers on the trend of the first weekend of sales. In particular, the wave of heat influenced visits in clothing-accessories, strongly meteoropathic.
The regions indicated by retailers as most performing are: Lazio, Campania and Marche. On the front of the weakest performances there is no specific geographical concentration.
– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
