New Rapyd Research Uncovers The Importance Of Italy’s Most Popular Payment Methods And The Unique Ways Italians Shop Online.
With global shopping and ecommerce expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17%, Italy is a market not to be overlooked. Italians are open to buying from abroad, with two-thirds (66%) buying online from international merchants. As for ecommerce channels, 35% of Italians shop via computer on a weekly basis while 36% buy via mobile.
That said, online sellers will face some challenges in Italy. The country suffers from higher unemployment, slower economic growth, and lower internet use. During the pandemic, Italians turned to ecommerce, and the number of Italian consumers buying online grew by more than 2 million to reach 27 million. Today many of these purchasing habits have remained for both online and offline transactions.
Italy continues to rank in the top ten of the most profitable ecommerce sales markets worldwide. The tech-savvy population is well-versed in nuances of financial applications and has widely accepted ecommerce as a convenient solution for modern-day life. Businesses need to make sure they are offering the right technologies, credit card processors and payment methods to meet the sophisticated expectations of German consumers.
To assist our clients in their businesses’ cross-border growth and attract and retain more customers, Rapyd conducts an annual survey of consumer payment and purchase behaviors in Latin America, Europe and the Asia Pacific.
Our research uncovered insights into Italians’ preferences for accepting and receiving payments, the way payment technology has evolved in Italy and consumers’ online shopping preferences. The survey was conducted in April 2022 and all respondents shop online at least once a month and are involved in purchase decisions in their households.
ABOUT THE STUDY
In March and April 2022 Rapyd conducted a research study to understand the financial habits, payment method choices, considerations and preferences of consumers in nine European countries. We surveyed 4,286 online consumers in Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and the UK. Consumer respondents represent a full spectrum of household income levels from low to high across each country. Household Income questions were presented in locally relevant amounts and currencies. The survey was conducted online amongst household decision-makers over 18 years of age. To participate, the survey respondents must have made a purchase online in the last month.
THE MOST POPULAR ONLINE PAYMENT METHODS IN ITALY
PayPal is a popular payment method among Italians; 63% of those surveyed have used Pay- Pal to purchase in the past month. 39% prefer to use PayPal online over all other methods, making it the number one preferred method in our survey. When asked for their first choice method for online purchases, Italians also chose PostePay (12%), credit cards (11%) and other prepaid cards (11%).
- 63% of Italians used PayPal in the past 90 days
- 35% of Italians use the local payment option PostePay and the same amount use credit cards.
- The least preferred payment methods for Italians are Google Pay and Apple Pay.
MOST POPULAR PRODUCTS TO BUY ONLINE IN ITALY
Clothing and accessories are the most popular online purchases. Other popular categories shopped for online are beauty products, home goods and media.
- 62% of Italians purchased clothing, shoes and accessories online in the last 90 days
- 39% of Italians paid for groceries online while 38% bought pharmaceuticals
- 30% of Italians bought travel or hospitality tickets and services online
THE MOST POPULAR IN-STORE AND POS PAYMENT METHODS IN ITALY
When it comes to in-store purchases, over half of Italians still use cash, followed by credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. Italian’s most preferred way to pay in-store was either with a debit card or cash, indicating a preference for more traditional payment types for brick-and-mortar stores.
- Cash is the most common form of payment for in-store purchases – used by 55% of Italians in the last 30 days
- PayPay was used 19% indicating continued growth for the payment platform
- Only 8% of Italians reporting preferring to use Apple Pay in store
TECH ADOPTION IN ITALY
Rapyd asked Italians how open they were to adopting new technology. While pretty equally split, the majority of Italians (59%) see themselves as being in the middle as members of the early and late majority. A full 20% see themselves as early adopters of new technology. Italians continue to migrate from cash and cards to newer, alternative digital payments.
MOST COMMON WAYS TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS IN ITALY
Accepting payments in Italy isn’t the only consideration for businesses. Businesses operating across the European Union also need to consider how their workers, partners, suppliers and individuals prefer to receive payments.
Using primary research, Rapyd has compiled country-level research on the most used and preferred payout methods in Europe.
- The top two payouts Italians received were for salary, wages and tips and investment sales or dividends.
- Direct bank transfers are the most popular method used to pay rent.
- Cash leads as a way to receive personal gifts
HOW ITALIANS PREFER TO RECEIVE FUNDS
The most common ways Italians receive disbursements based on the payout type.
- Bank transfers are the most common way for Italians to receive funds for all use cases except rebates and personal gifts
- Payment to card is the most popular way to receive product or service rebates
- The most preferred ways to receive sales from commissions are split between bank transfers, payment to card and cash
WHAT DISBURSEMENT FEATURES MATTER MOST TO ITALIANS?
When businesses send money to Italians the most important feature is security followed closely by no transaction fees. Italians prioritize data security and demand that their personal information be kept safe. Almost half of all Italians surveyed rated all of the features we tested as being important. So, businesses should seek to deliver disbursements that offer security, speed, low fees, notifications and the ability to receive funds in local currencies.
- 81% of Italians ranked “keeping my personal data safe” as extremely important
- 73% ranked “no transaction fee” as an important factor
- 61% said receiving same-day payments was extremely important
SIMPLIFY PAYMENTS IN ITALY AND 100+ OTHER COUNTRIES
With Rapyd, your business can accept and send local and cross-border payments to just about anyone—faster, cheaper and easier using the methods and currencies they prefer.
Rapyd Can Help You:
- Accept payments and send payouts from one platform
- Expand cross-border card acquiring
- Quickly access new markets
- Stop wasting time integrating multiple payment gateways
- Navigate legal and compliance issues
Learn how Rapyd can help you save millions on transaction and FX fees while spending 70% less time managing payments.
