BAVENO (ITALPRESS) – The annual Retail Summit, Confimprese, JAKALA and TIG – The Innovation Group, was held in Baveno.
The reading of the data of the Confimprese study centre on the current year takes a substantially stable market, confirming the estimates of the development plans announced at the beginning of 2026.
From the biannual analysis conducted on the associative basis distributed in a homogeneous way between catering, clothing-accessories and other retail (house-furniture, electronics, telephone and care of the person), it emerges that retailers, despite the uncertainties on the international chesssboard, burdened by conflicts and commercial wars, have not changed the strategies of development of the distribution networks in the three macrosectors. The almost 6 thousand openings are confirmed, both direct and in franchising, announced in the first half of 2026 with an occupational relapse of more than 35 thousand new employees. The development plans, in fact, confirm a long-term strategic lever: the majority continues to invest in order to strengthen the presence on the market. Companies plan openings with a look from 3 to 5 years. This explains the difference between the swinging trend of consumption and the forecasts of openings both in Italy and abroad. It may happen that consumption is weak today, but that companies feel that the Italian market remains interesting in the medium term.
In the merceologic sectors, catering confirms development plans with 1.718 openings, clothing-accessories provides 1.353, other retail, which, after the long decline of 2025 due to the rebound of sales in the years of post-Covid, is finding vigor and estimates 2.892 new stores.
The fact that development plans are confirmed is a good result. Of course, the openings no longer grow at the rhythms of the pre-Covid years. Concluding 2026 with a confirmation of the estimates drawn at the beginning of the year at a historical moment in which the geopolitical and economic scenario was questioned, is an act of confidence in the future and in the same retail estate. Also the weakness of consumption with which the I quadrimestre 2026 was inaugurated to -0.5% leaves room for improvement, with a month of May to +3.7% that reports the annual consumption in positive territory. It is a moment of oxygen for retail after months of negative performance, although it is early to pull the sums.
Also in May, in the clothing-accessory sector, against expectations, records the best performance with a +6.2%. The restaurant follows +4.5%. Another retail with a -0.4% is the only sector in negative territory. As for the sales channels, the malls recorded a good result in May at +5.2%, the proximity shops close to +3.9%, while the high street, after a first quadrimestre in negative, are at +0.8% (Data permanent Observatory on Confimprese-JAKALA consumption).
«The companies are investing in a targeted way – explains Mario Resca, President Confimprese – giving priority to high potential locations, more efficient format and greater integration between physical and digital. In a phase of uncertainty, investments do not stop, but become more selective and oriented to the medium-long period. Consumers, by their nature, are affected by short-term dynamics; business strategies, on the other hand, look at larger horizons, focusing on innovation, proximity and quality of experience. The new openings reflect, therefore, a Retail that changes skin: shops closer to the territories, more connected to the digital channels and increasingly focused on the needs of a changing consumer. It is in this ability to adapt that the sector demonstrates its resilience. The challenge, today, is to combine prudence and vision: to manage the uncertainty of the present without giving up building the foundations of future growth”.
As for the invoices for the closing of 2026, expectations remain substantiallystable and signal a growth of +0.5% for the end of the year, signal of a still prudent retail. The differences between the sectors are contained: from other retail (+2.0%) to clothing-accessories (-2%) to catering (+0.3%).
Good news also on the front of international expansion, lived by retailers as a structural lever of growth and geographical diversification. The high share of companies that confirm or increase the openings of 85% suggests that development opportunities in foreign markets continue to exceed the perceived risks associated with geopolitical instability.
“The international expansion and the confirmation of the opening plans show the face of an industry that continues to grow, but with deeply different logics than the past. The real competitive lever? It is no longer just the ability to open new sales outlets, but the precision with which companies can integrate market data, consumer behaviour and performance of individual channels to make decisions faster and more sustainable. It is in this transformation, which puts into play Customer Experience, Artificial Intelligence and Technology, which today plays the ability of Retail to maintain growth margins in an unstable scenario,” says Marco Di Dio Roccazzella, managing director & global retail & consumer leader of JAKALA.
“In a market where consumers expect more and more relevant and tailored experiences, customization is no longer an added value but the real competition ground of modern retail. Knowing how to interpret the data to anticipate needs and build authentic relationships with the customer is today the decisive lever to generate sustainable fidelity and growth” reflects Emilio Mango, general manager The Innovation Group.
-photo f28/Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
