Italians remain 'food, techno maniacs' despite crisis

Average income has dropped 2,700 euros since 2007 says Coop

(ANSA) - Milan, September 3 - Italians have continued to spend money on quality food and technology products despite the huge impact the global economic crisis has had on consumer spending, according to a study released Wednesday by the country's Coop Italia consortium of consumer cooperatives. Italy is currently in its third recession since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008.

The study by the Coop, which runs a big chain of supermarkets, said that the average Italian income had fallen by 2,700 euros since 2007. It said that this had led to consumer spending "generally reaching a standstill", while stressing retail sales patterns showed Italian people were "food maniacs on one hand and technology maniacs on the other". The report said that technology and the health, fairtrade, ethnic, organic and vegan foods segments were the only categories in which retail sales had grown. The Coop said that 2014 will not be the year of a new start, but the one in which the country pulled back from the brink, while predicting that the recessionary trend will be reversed in 2015. At the presentation of the report, Coop Italia President Marco Pedroni called on the authorities to take action to fight price deflation, which experts say could make recovery even harder, after Italy's annual inflation rate dropped to -0.1% in August. "Deflation is a nasty beast," said Pedroni. "If it isn't attacked with power and determination, it could induce families to cut spending even further".