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Export, a gold mine for Italy. Finally also online
By businesspeople / May 23, 2017

Export, a gold mine for Italy. Finally also online

Italian exports discover the online gold mine. In 2016, exports of consumer goods passing through digital channels marked a significant increase, + 24% over the previous year, to reach market value of 7.5 billion euros . But it still represents a marginal share, just under 6%, of the total exports of consumer goods destined for the end customer. Looking at the most important sectors, Fashion confirms the main export industry via eCommerce, with a weight of just over 60%, followed by Food (17%) - the industry with the highest growth rate (+ 32% ) - and then from Furniture and Design (both at 12%). These are some of the research results of the Export Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano ( www.osservatori.net ).

Large retailers are the preferred online distribution channel for over-the-counter sales and account for 52% of digital export sales. Second place is the marketplace (34%), the channel that grew most in 2016, + 46%, then private sales sites (8%) and ecommerce sites (6%). The main outlet markets are still Europe and the United States , with a predominance of Western European countries (primarily Germany), and also strengthens its presence in some Eastern European countries, including Russia and Poland, while remaining marginal Export to other markets such as South America, Southeast Asia and China.
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The research reveals a still very broad scissor between the value of direct online export - where customer interaction is managed by an Italian operator through the sites of producers, online or multichannel online retailers (such as LuisaViaRoma and Yoox Net-a-porter-group) or "Italian" marketplaces (such as Amazon.it and eBay.it ) - the "indirect" online export, which passes through the eCommerce sites of the major foreign online retailers (such as Zalando, JD. Com , Suning), large marketplaces (Amazon and eBay with foreign domains, Tmall) and international private sales sites (such as vente-privee.com or VIP). Direct exports, in fact, despite a significant increase in 2016 (+ 23%), is only worth 2 billion euros. The indirect one generates 5.5 billion euros of turnover.

"In a highly competitive international environment, with consumers increasingly inclined to use digital technologies, the adoption of e-commerce as a channel of sale abroad can be a winning choice , useful in supporting the growth of Italian exports, Says Riccardo Mangiaracina, director of the Export Observatory. "In Italy, the use of ecommerce channels to export is a recent phenomenon: volumes increase and awareness of opportunities increases. But exploiting the opportunities offered by digital exports is not easy: preparation, skills, willingness to change, and adequate investment are needed. It is necessary to study the characteristics of the various countries and sectors to develop export models that can unlock the potential of digital channels. "